Prokop Paces Gulls at Pilgrim Pride Invitational

Sept. 2, 2006

BEVERLY, MA - Nicole Prokop and the rest of Endicott College's men's and women's cross country teams started off their seasons on the right foot. The Gulls raced Saturday morning at the Pilgrim Pride Invitational hosted by New England College.

The women kicked off the day for EC with a very strong showing as sophomore Nicole Prokop took third place overall, unofficially running 18:07 for the 2.6 mile course.

Prokop was followed a tight pack of Gull runners, EC's second through fifth runners were separated by a mere 22 seconds. That 22 second spread should prove advantageous when the meets are team scored. Katie Carrol (20:16) was EC's second runner, she was followed by Katie Fitch (20:23), Lynne Gallagher (20:26) and Kathleen Lascelles (20:38).

Prokop's third place finish was the highlight of the day on the women's side, while for the men it was an overall success as each team member drastically reduced their times.

Freshmen Sam Turner led the Gulls as he took four minutes of his personal best time, running 31:43 for the five mile course. Junior Ryan Darmody took two minutes off his previous best as he crossed the finish in 32:55.

A major highlight for the EC men was the performance of their freshmen. Sam Turner led the squad and David Le covered the course in 33:22, while Ryan Slobin also took a considerable amount of time off of his previous best. The Gulls also got a strong performance from Jon Harkins.

EC next races at the University of New England on September 9, that meet will feature team scoring and the Gulls will once again toe the line with their many CCC rivals.