EASTON, Mass. (October 22, 2016) – Freshman Aidan Gilbride (East Kilbride, Scotland) was the first freshman across the line on Saturday morning, earning Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year honors for the Franklin Pierce University men's cross country team at the Northeast-10 Championship, hosted by Stonehill. Gilbride was one of three Ravens to earn All-Northeast-10 honors on the day, helping the team to a fourth-place finish (of 15 schools).

Senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) led the way for the Ravens on Saturday, picking up All-Northeast-10 First Team honors with an 8k time of 25:34.6, which was good for sixth place. Gilbride added All-Northeast-10 Second Team honors by finishing 13th, with a time of 25:48.3, bettering the next freshman in the field -- Stonehill's Michael Durkin -- by just one second. Senior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) earned All-Conference honors as well, taking home All-Northeast-10 Third Team accolades by placing 15th, with a time of 25:52.1.

The top seven finishers on the day earned All-Northeast-10 First Team honors, the next seven were placed on the Second Team and those who finished 15th through 21st earned Third Team honors. Gilbride became the first runner in program history to earn Rookie of the Year honors.

After Smith, it was another 31 spots back to the next Franklin Pierce finisher, as freshman Jeff Reddy (Chester, N.H.) finished 46th, with a time of 27:04.0. Freshman Tyler Hayes (Kings Park, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring five for the Ravens by placing 68th, with a time of 27:58.6.

It all added up to 134 points and a fourth-place finish for the Ravens. Up front, American International (27 points) ran away with the Northeast-10 title, as it had the individual champion and put all five of its scoring runners in the top-10 overall. The Yellow Jackets picked up a 47-point win over host Stonehill (74 points) in second, while Bentley (121 points) took third, 13 points in front of Franklin Pierce. Southern New Hampshire (141 points) rounded out the top five.

AIC sophomore Leakey Kipkosgei was the individual champion, running a time of 24:35.4 to win by over 20 seconds.

The Ravens return to action on Saturday, Nov. 5, when they host the NCAA Championship East Regional at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). 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 (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).