AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS
Orono, MAINE – Jameson Sparks and Lily Porth paced the Catamounts today at America East Championships as the women's team finished second with 77 points and the men finished fifth with 114. Porth was the front runner for the women with a time of 18:27.85, which was fast enough for 10th place and a second-team all-conference spot, the second of her career. Sparks ran a personal best 25:34.94 en route to a 20th-place finish for Vermont.

RELATED LINKS
Results: Women's 5k | Men's 8k 

COACH'S QUOTE
"Today is always an emotional day when there is no question as to what every team is trying to accomplish. To be able to perform well today is a tribute to the commitment these athletes make to each other. The men's team fell just a little short of where they wanted to be, but I saw tremendous effort throughout," said head coach Matt Belfield. "The women thrived due to our depth, but most importantly, they competed as 'one' today. I challenged them to race for each other and they really did a nice job of picking each other up through the race. It wasn't perfect, but they're really happy to earn second in the conference today. Special kudos to Will and Lily for extraordinary accomplishments. Will for a gutty race today as a rookie; and Lily for being really good at balancing a super challenging nursing major with athletic excellence." 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• While Sparks paced the Catamounts, Dillon Jensen was the second scorer for Vermont, finishing in 21st at 25:35.47.
• William Locke (25:37.51), Nathan Stine (25:48.17), and Bennett Harrison-Michaels (25:49.49) rounded out the scoring for the Catamounts.
• Locke, Stine, and Harrison-Michaels all set personal bests during the race.
• Following Porth was Clare Kelly, who finished in 12th place with a time of 18:33.73, which earned her a second-team all-conference spot for the first time in her career.
• Katrina Secinaro (18:40.54), Andie Cornish (18:46.19), and Caroline Deiss (18:50.49) rounded out the scoring for the Catamounts.
• Deiss and Secinaro both set personal bests during the race.

NOTES

• The all-conference finishes by Porth and Kelly marks the 13th time the Vermont women have had multiple all-conference finishers.
• Locke was recognized as the Most Outstanding Rookie for his 21st-place finish.
• Porth also received the Elite 18 award as she was the top finisher with the highest GPA.

UP NEXT
Vermont cross country returns to action on Friday (Nov. 10) when they head to Bronx, N.Y., for the NCAA Northeast Regionals. The event kicks off at 11 a.m. at Van Cortlandt Park with the women's 6k. The men will race a 10k at 12 p.m.