Sophomore Keeley Bateman set the STAC 6K record of 23:28 at the NCAA East Regional. She helped the Lady Spartans to a 14th place team finish, which is a program best at the NCAA DII level. Freshman Joe Chegwidden led the Spartans to their 15th place finish crossing the line in 33:29. The regional race was held at Franklin Park in Boston, MA.
Bateman's 19th place finish is the best Lady Spartan finish at the NCAA East Regional to date. Senior Sarah Callagy added another strong race finishing in 24:21. Callagy capped off an impressive four year career that has helped STAC to make their mark in the East Coast Conference. Freshmen Catherine Sandkuhl and Katelyn Garvey appeared in their first regional competition and had a strong showing. In their first time on the course they crossed the line in 25:20 and 25:36 respectively. Their ability to work together will be very important in the future of the program. Seniors Chelsea Klinger (personal best 25:48), Lauren Karpoich (26:33) and Lisa Brevogel (27:33) rounded out the competitors for the Spartans. "We ran a great race today. I am very proud of my team and happy for the seniors. They have built the foundation of successful program and I thank them for that," commented 4th year head coach Nicole Ballou.
The men's team had a strong outing with their 15th place finish. Chegwidden's 41st place finish led the Spartans with sophomore Michael Galonski right behind him. Galonski finished in 33:52 which was good for 50th place. Freshman Alex Andre crossed the line in 34:43. The next four spots were held by sophomores with Matthew Buell (35:15) and Michael Galonski (37:01) rounding out the scorers. Jonathan Laszlo came through the finish at 38:28 and Chris McKenna crossed the line in 40:28. "A 15th place finish while running five sophomores and two freshmen shows that the future is bright for this program. This is one of our best finishes we have had and it is only going to get better as we move forward. I am looking forward to working with these young men and watching them continue to improve," said Ballou about the Spartan squad.