Women 2nd, men 3rd at NECs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Fifth-year senior Martha Reynolds (London, England) finished fifth and freshman Milan Duka (Belgrade, Serbia) finished ninth to lead the Bryant University cross country teams at the Northeast Conference championships on Saturday morning at Stanley Park in New Britain, Conn.

Led by Reynolds, the women matched their finish from last year as they came in second with a total of 73 points, 30 behind champion Sacred Heart. Duka's performance led the men to their highest finish in program history as they came within seven points of second place Saint Francis U. Central Connecticut won its fifth-straight title as it featured each of the first five finishers.

On the women's side, Reynolds ran to All-NEC honors for the third-straight season to wrap up her career. She crossed the finish line with a time of 17:49.22. Junior Annmarie Tuxbury (New Hartford, Conn.) was second across the line for Bryant, earning All-NEC honors for the third-straight year with a career-best eighth-place finish (18:01.23). Freshman Elizabeth Willmonton (Rowley, Mass.) was third among all rookies, finishing 15th with a time of 18:29.54. Senior Kara Walsh (Waltham, Mass.) finished a career-best 17th (18:30.46) and Staci Rezendes (Ludlow, Mass.) finished 29th (19:17.29) to round out Bryant's scorers.

In his first career championship meet, Duka earned All-NEC honors with a ninth-place finish. He finished the 8k course with a time of 26:32.41. Duka was the third rookie to cross the line. Thomas Mullally (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) finished 15th with a time of 26:44.69 and Richard Landry (Holyoke, Mass.) was right behind in 17th (26:57.00). Francis Foley (Acton, Mass.) ran to an 18th-place finish (27:02.55) and Russell Stevens (Colchester, Conn.) rounded out Bryant's top five with an 19th-place finish (27:07.93).