Franklin Pierce University women's cross country

Women’s Cross Country Finishes Program-Best Ninth at NCAA East Regional

PHILADELPHIA (November 9, 2019) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's cross country team took its first-ever top-10 finish at the regional level on Saturday afternoon, as the Ravens placed ninth out of 26 teams at the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Jefferson at the Belmont Plateau.

Junior Marissa Farago (Salisbury, Mass.) was the first to cross the line for the Ravens. She took 30th out of 162 runners, after her 23:45 finish on the 6k course. Farago was less than 15 seconds away from earning the program's first-ever All-Region honor, as accolades were bestowed on the meet's top 25 finishers. Still, the 30th-place finish marked the highest position attained by a runner at the regional meet in the history of the program.

Senior Julia Cormier (Northwood, N.H.) was the next to finish for Franklin Pierce. She took 55th after running a time of 24:34. Directly behind her was sophomore Alana Thompson (Westampton, N.J.), who landed 56th with her 24:35 finish.

Freshman Nadia Cathcart (Hyde Park, N.Y.) earned her spot in 63rd after her 24:47 finish. At 24:58, senior Rebecca Zylak (Goffstown, N.H.) crossed the line to take 71st and round out the Ravens' scoring five.

"It was the program's all-time best finish and they were only two points from seventh place, which shows how far they've come," said head coach Zach Emerson after the meet. "I'm very proud of seniors Julia Cormier and Rebecca Zylak for all they've done to leave the team in a far better position than where they found it."

Outside of the scoring five for Franklin Pierce, junior Marisa Carbone (Scarborough, Maine) took 88th for her 25:28 race. Finally for the Ravens was junior Lauren Stankiewicz (Naugatuck, Conn.), who took 94th for her 25:39 race as all seven Ravens finished within the top 100.

Stonehill claimed the East Region title with just 26 points. The Skyhawks collected an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship National Final, where they will be joined by second-place Roberts Wesleyan (41 points) and third-place Southern New Hampshire (130 points). Adelphi (146 points) and Saint Anselm (198 points) rounded out the top five.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce cross country apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).