LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL (Oct. 30, 2021) – Iona College won its sixth-straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Cross Country Championship on Saturday, October 30 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Leading the Gaels was 2021 Women’s Most Outstanding Runner Sophie Murphy, who completed the 6k course with a time of 20:58.7.
Murphy’s finishing time was the second-best individual MAAC finish at the course, only trialing Iona’s Emmily Chelanga’s 2004 time of 20:39.5.
Joining Murphy in the field’s top-five was Sammi Ragenklint from Monmouth (21:03.1), Olivia Lomascolo of Siena (21:07.5, Gemma Nuttall from Iona (21:12.0), and Liv DiStefano of Quinnipiac (21:20.6). Ragenklint, Lomascolo, Nuttall, and DiStefano also etched their names in the MAAC Record Books at the course, logging the third, fourth, sixth, and 10th best times, respectively.
The 2021 MAAC Women’s Cross Country Most Outstanding Rookie was Ali Gillooly from Iona. Gillooly finished in 15th-place overall, with a time of 21:56.4.
Along with Gillooly, Keira Cohen (22:10.3) of Siena, Kayla Schmidt (22:11.3) of Siena, Sarah Eskew (22:46.6) of Rider, and Hannah Belleville (22:58.1) of Marist, were named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Postseason competition continues Friday, November 12 in Boston, Massachusetts at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship. The NCAA Division I Championship will take place November 20 in Tallahassee, Florida at Apalachee Regional Park hosted by Florida State.
All results from the 2021 MAAC Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships, can be found on
maacsports.com.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 41st year of competition during the 2021-22 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram or visit
MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.