BURLINGTON, Vt. – University of Vermont head coach Matt Belfield announced captains for the 2019 men's and women's cross country teams on Monday.
 
Seniors John Benner, Neville Caulfield, and Luke Petela were named captains for the men's team. Graduate student Autumn Albrecht, senior Toni Rabasco, and junior Caroline O'Shea will serve as captains for the women's squad.
 
RELATED LINKS
2019 Roster
2019 Schedule
 
"Coach Gingras and I continue to be pleased with the choices the team makes when voting for captains," said head coach Matt Belfield. "While many of our veterans received votes from the constituency, these three men and three women emerged with the clear confidence of the squad. Captaincy for this fall is a very important task that I know each will take seriously. After our fastest team time trials ever on Saturday, we are poised to have outstanding seasons, and I look forward to the leadership our captains will provide."
 
Benner serves as captain for the second season after earning America East All-Conference Second Team and All-Academic Team honors in the 2018 campaign. The Needham, Massachusetts native finished ninth in the America East Championships with an 8k personal-best time of 25:00.6. At the NCAA Division I Northeast Regional, Benner led the Catamounts with a time of 33:57.0 en route to the team's best finish in program history.
 
Petela also returns as a captain for the second consecutive season. He had a pair of fifth-place finishes last year, which were the highest of his career. He ran a personal-best 8k time of 25:38.8 at the Vermont Fall Foliage Invite, and was one of UVM's scorers in the historic finish at the NCAA Northeast Regional.

A three-time member of the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll, Caulfield joins the leadership team after a 2018 season that saw a third-place finish in the season opener at Hard'Ack Recreation Area. The Durham, New Hampshire native registered an 8k personal record in the America East Championships (25:50.5) for a 31st-place finish.
 
Albrecht captains the women's cross country team for the second season. She didn't compete in the 2018 campaign due to injury, but has been a key contributor to the program. The Brockport, New York native finished third at Hard'Ack in 2017 and registered a career-best 5k time of 17:34.7 for third-place at the Rothenberg-Brown Invite in 2016.
 
Rabasco posted a career-best fourth-place finish at the Aldrich Invitational last season. The Woburn, Massachusetts is also a two-time member of the America East Academic Honor Roll.
 
As a sophomore, O'Shea registered two top-10 finishes for Vermont, including a victory at the Minuteman Invitational. A native of Nashua, New Hampshire, she ran a career-best time of 18:13.0 in the 5k to win by 6.4 seconds. O'Shea is a two-time member of the America East Academic Honor Roll.
 
The Catamounts opens up the season on Saturday, September 7 when they host UMass Lowell at Hard'Ack Recreation Area in St. Albans.