The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Emmy Churchill finished 49th out of 125 runners at the United State Collegiate Athletic Association national cross country championships Friday in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Churchill, a sophomore from Washburn, was the lone Owl woman competing and her finish was the best showing for the Owls at a national meet since 2013. She completed the 6-kilometer course in 28 minutes and 26 seconds.
Saul Nunez (Contributed/UMPI Athletics)
Emmy Churchill (Courtesy/UMPI Athletics)
Cleary University of Howell, Michigan, took the women’s team title and one of its runners, Madison Paquette, won the race in 23:21.98.
The Owl men’s team was fully represented and finished 16th out of 22 teams.
UMPI was paced by Andrew Hunt, a junior from Bennington, New Hampshire, who ran his personal best of 31:26 for the 8-kilometer race and finished 77th out of 166 runners. Hunt passed teammate Saul Nunez, a senior from Mapleton, in the last half mile. Nunez ran his best race of the season, crossing the finish line 80th overall with a time of 31:38.
Kyle Davis, a freshman from Addison, ended up with a time of 32:20, good for 95th place, while Jesse Gonzalez, a freshman from Othello, Washington, (34:45) and Danny Gilotti, a freshman from Ludlow, (38:14) rounded out the team scoring for the Owls.
The team from State University of New York at Delhi was crowned champion on the men’s side and was led by Kobie Lane, who was the individual champ in 25:58.77.
Andrew Hunt (Contributed/UMPI Athletics)
