Freshman Aidan Gilbride led the way with a ninth-place finish on Saturday morning, as the host Franklin Pierce University men’s cross country team placed fifth, out of 11 teams, at the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup. The meet was held at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds, which will also serve as host of the NCAA East Regional for the second straight year in November.
Gilbride ran an 8k time of 26:40.8 to lead the Ravens on the day, with his time being good enough for ninth in the 127-runner field. He was followed closely by senior B.J. Smith who ran a 26:48.4 to place 12th. Senior Dage Minors made it three Ravens in the top 25, as he took the 23rd position, with a time of 27:25.2.
Franklin Pierce would wind up with six runners among the top 50 finishes on Saturday morning. Senior Jon Holmes in 33rd place (27:47.1) and freshman Jeff Reddy ( in 45th place (28:31.4) rounded out Franklin Pierce’s scoring five on the day. Junior Derek Robbie rounded out the top-50 in 50th, with a time of 28:40.0.
It all added up to 112 points and a fifth-place finish for the Ravens on the day. Up front, Southern New Hampshire and Bentley each finished with 70 points, with SNHU taking the team title via tiebreaker. Adelphi took third (78 points), followed by Wilmington (Del.) in fourth (109 points), just three points ahead of the Ravens.
Freshman Julia Cormier led the way with a 26th-place finish on Saturday morning, as the host Franklin Pierce University women’s cross country team placed ninth, out of 11 teams, at the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup.
Cormier posted a 5k time of 20:25.3 to lead all Ravens runners on the day and take the 26th position in the 136-runner field. Fellow freshman Rebecca Zylak and sophomore Sarah Hart also cashed in top-35 finishes on Saturday, with the former placing 32nd (20:42.2) and the latter finishing 35th (20:47.0).
It would be more than 30 spots back to the next-fastest Raven however, as 67th- and 75th-place finishes would round out the scoring five on the day for Franklin Pierce. In 67th, it was junior Alexa Cassar, with a time of 21:48.8. In 75th was freshman Shaylyn Harrington, who ran a time of 22:07.6.
It all added up to 202 points and a ninth-place finish for the Ravens on the day. Up front, Merrimack accumulated just 66 points to pick up the team title. The Warriors were trailed by Bentley in second (85 points) and Adelphi in third (120 points).
The Ravens return to action on Saturday, Sept. 24, when they travel to the Harry F. Anderson Invitational, hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y.