Willmonton, Duka pace Bulldogs to third-place finishes at NECs

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Elizabeth Willmonton (Rowley, Mass.) finished sixth overall and Milan Duka (Belgrade, Serbia) finished 10th to lead the Bryant University men's and women's cross country teams to third-place finishes at the Northeast Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning at Bryant.

The Bulldog women finished third with a score of 88 and the men matched their best finish with 91 points. Central Connecticut won its seventh-straight championship on the men's side and Sacred Heart won its third-straight women's title.

In one of the best races of her career, Willmonton ran to sixth-place finish and All-NEC honors with a time of 18:25. Senior Erin Svensen (Medway, Mass.) wrapped up her career with an All-NEC performance as well, finishing ninth with a time of 18:28.2. Emily McNeil (Shelton, Conn.) finished 18th with a time of 18:51.4, Sarah Lapham (Greenwich, N.Y.) finished 28th with a time of 19:15.5 and Staci Rezendes (Ludlow, Mass.) rounded out Bryant's scorers with a 32nd-place finish (19:25.1).

On the men's side, Duka earned All-NEC honors for her second-straight season with a time of 25:45.8. Russell Stevens (Colchester, Conn.) earned all-conference laurels for the first time in his career with a 14th-place finish (26:06.1). Richard Landry (Holyoke, Mass.) finished right behind Stevens, posting a time of 26:17.4. Thomas Mullally (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) finished 21st and Alexander Evans (Bow, N.H.) finished 35th to round out the Bryant scorers.