NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Competing for the first time in an official track and field meet this season, the Saint Anselm College men's and women's cross country teams performed admirably in a tri-meet hosted by Merrimack College on Friday.
The Hawks competed against Bentley, Stonehill and Merrimack on Friday, the latter institution recently transitioning to full NCAA Division I membership. The triangular meet was the first of the spring season for Saint Anselm, who will return to action against Bentley, Franklin Pierce and the hosts from Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, May 1.
"We were really happy with how everyone performed in their first competition since November 2019," said Head Coach Brian Stankiewicz '17. "Each of the student-athletes responded to the challenge with aggressive starts, strong performances, and amazing teamwork. We are happy with our position right now and are looking forward to the rest of the track season."
Junior Dominique Engle (Rutland, Mass.) won the 5,000-meter run for Saint Anselm, completing the race with a time of 19:17.26. She was followed by three Hawks student-athletes who placed second through fourth, including senior Gabrielle Dionne (Windham, N.H.), freshman Courtney Grzybinski (Holbrook, Mass.) and junior Ailish Husband (Plymouth, Mass.).
Dionne clocked in with a time of 19:25.64 while Grzybinski crossed the line in 19:36.28. Husband turned in a time of 19:39.14, rounding out the top-four finishers. The foursome of Engle, Dionne, Grzybinski and Husband checked in with times ranking in the top-20 of the Northeast-10 Conference in 2021.
Freshman Trevor Scopelites (Litchfield, N.H.) was the top finisher in the 5,000 meter for the men's program, finishing fourth (16:42.46). Sophomore Alex Horan (Clifton, Va.) was fifth (16:51.76) and senior Jordan Cook (Biddeford, Maine) was seventh with a time of 17:16.16.
In the women's 1,500-meter run, freshman Jane Harrington (Melrose, Mass.) debuted for the Hawks with a team-leading time of 5:14.51, taking eighth place. She was followed by classmate Kaitlyn Boles (Bedford, N.H.), whose ninth-place time of 5:16.44 was second on the Hawks.
Trevor Scopelites led Saint Anselm in the men's 1,500-meter run, clocking in with a fifth-place time of 4:16.52 which ranks 20th in the Northeast-10 this season. Classmate Chris Hogan (Plymouth, Mass.) was sixth with a time of 4:19.91 and junior Cole Corcoran (Braintree, Mass.) just missed cracking the top-10 with a time of 4:30.43.
Boles also competed in the 800-meter race, finishing sixth (2:38.09). Hogan was the top Saint Anselm finisher in the men's 800 meter (2:07.39).
Saint Anselm traditionally has competed in track and field during its non-traditional men's and women's seasons in the spring, but has declared itself eligible for the NE10 and NCAA postseasons held in outdoor track and field.
