Gulls open season with strong showings at Gordon Invitational

Aug. 30, 2008

WENHAM, Mass. - The Endicott College men's and women's cross country teams both finished 2nd at the Gordon College Invitational held in Wenham, Mass. on Saturday.

Freshman Greg Payne (North Attleboro, Mass.) set the pace for the men, as he finished the 8K (4.97 miles) course in 28:38 to lead all runners. Payne beat out 28 other competitors to capture first place in his first-ever collegiate event.

A pack of Gulls finished in places 17-21 with the head of the pack being Brendan Mitchell (Chelmsford, Mass.) by turning in a time of 32:58. Sam Turner (Portland, Maine) and Steve Bouchard (Saratoga, N.Y.) finished seconds behind Mitchell at 33:06 and 33:08, respectively.

Endicott as a team scored 59 points to earn the second place finish. Gordon placed first with 20 points and New England College rounded out the field with 60 points.

On the women's side, junior Meghan McGraw (Georgia, Vt.) finished 5th overall with a time of 21:32. Freshman Brittaney Plante (Nashua, N.H.) had a strong showing in her first collegiate race finishing 7th on the 3.05 mile course.

Lynne Gallagher (Lowell, Mass.) and Kelly Cameron (Barrington, R.I.) also placed strongly finishing seconds apart in 9th and 10th place with times of 21:56 and 21:59, respectively.

As a team, Endicott finished second by scoring 44 points. Gordon won the event with 16 points as well as having the first place runner in Sophomore Hannah Matthews. New England College placed third with 80 points respectively.

The Gulls return to action this Saturday when they travel to Manchester, Conn. and the trails of Trinity College. The women race at 10:30 a.m. while the men will begin just 40-minutes later 11:10.

For complete results from the Gordon College Invitational, please click here.