BSU Cross Country finishes 12th in 42-team invitational

09/23/2015

Joshua Dyer
Comment Contributor

The Bridgewater State University (BSU) Women’s Cross Country team finished in an impressive 12th place in the 42 team invitational meet held at UMASS Dartmouth this past Saturday.

Leading the Bears was senior captain Danielle Poto of North Andover, Mass. Poto was the top finisher for BSU in the invitational, finishing the course in a time of 18:49.75. Poto was able to place 19th out of the 315 runners, an admirable time and a respectable placement, to say the least.

The next two Bears who crossed the finish line were a pair of juniors, Emily and Rachel Ducharme, both of North Attleboro, Mass., with times of 19:58.46 (68th) and 19:58.83 (69th), respectively.

Though the Bears did not quite achieve podium glory, they have posted impressive numbers at both of their meets so far this season.

With a fifth place finish at the Roger Williams meet, and now a 12th place finish at the UMASS Dartmouth meet, the Bears are on track for MASCAC notoriety. The success was not stumbled upon, but rather, it was earned.

Fellow senior captain Theresa Connolly attributes their success to the team’s work ethic, “this squad has a lot of heart and desire to be successful, for ourselves and for each other.”

Connolly, a North Andover native, expressed how hard the team has worked to have a chance of achieving their goals this season, “we have a lot of work to do in the next six weeks before MASCACs but the title is definitely a tangible goal for us.”

After a great start to the season, with leadership from both Connolly and Poto, the women of the BSU Cross Country have their goals set and are willing to put in the work to have the privilege of calling themselves MASCAC champions.

Time shall tell if their goal will be reached this year or not, but one thing is for certain, they definitely are off to an exceptional start.