The St. Thomas Aquinas women's cross country team posted a program best 5th place finish at the NCAA DII East Regional in Nashua New Hampshire. This capped off a record breaking season for the Lady Spartans as they positioned themselves as a top competitor in the East Region. Freshman Kristen Borriello and sophomore Katie O'Grady led the Lady Spartans. Senior Joe Chegwidden finished off his career as the top runner for the men's squad in the 10K race.
The Men's race was the first of the brisk day. Chegwidden ran a solid race finishing in 34:01. He lead the Spartans in the majority of the race this season. Freshman Asaad Jeffrey capped off a strong rookie campaign as the second finisher for the team in 34:51. Sophomore Stephen McNiff continued to show major improvement in his second season as a Spartan. He has gotten better in every race this season and showed once agan that he can have a strong impact on the future success of the program. McNiff crossed the line in 35:56. Freshman Vincent Vazquez returned to racing after a two week hiatus. In his first 10K, he completed the course in 39:51. Classmates Jamer Linares (38:07) and Ryan Gasser (39:51). Following a feshman year marked with injuries, Linares made a big jump as well. He became a consistent scorer and was much stronger this year. Freshman Christian Diaz made his first appearance at a regional competition. The men finished in 21st place overall. There were many bright spots in the 2014-15 season including a second place team finish at the Highlander Technology Challenge, a second place team finish at the CTC Championship and a third place finish at the Jack St. Clair Memorial. "We are a very young team that has shown promise this season. There were some bumps in the road, but I think that we will grow from the experiences. I look forward to watching the progression of our runners as they mature," commented Head Coach Nicole Ballou.
The Lady Spartans had a record setting season come to end with the program best 5th place finish. They finished 11th in 2013. K. Borriello set a program record of 22:40 in the 6K race. Keeley Bateman '13 set the previous record of 23:28. Borriello ran a phenomenal race finishing in 19th place. O'Grady (22:57) and Ventarola (23:01) also broke the school record. Junior Gabriela Sloezen was the next finisher for the Lady Spartans. This group of underclassmen have shown that they can compete with anyone. They were ranked as high as third in the region for the majority of the season and will all be back next year. Graduate student Allison Borriello had a great race to end her cross country season. She was the final scorer for the Lady Spartans finishing in 24:21. "Ally has been a great leader for us. I think she helps to set the standards of the program annd has really helped us to create a platform for success," said Ballou. Senior Gina Funaro ran a personal best 24:41 in the 6K. "Gina has really blossomed as a runner. She is a hard worker who really earned her place at this race." Freshman Angelica Matwiejczuk crossed the line in 24:44 in her first NCAA Regional race. "This year has been great overall. The team had a great work ethic. They weree disciplined and they ran smart. I can't ask for anything more. They earned a great deal of respect for our program and they will be back. They had a taste of success but I know they are will be fighting to make it to the next level."
While the 2014 cross country season has come to an end, both squads will move on to the Indoor Track season.