XC begins 2012 with Nassaney Race Sat.
BULLDOGS BEGIN 2012 SEASON THIS WEEKEND WITH NASSANEY MEMORIAL RACE
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With the return of its two top runners, the Bryant University men's and women's cross country teams head into the 2012 season with a great deal of hope and optimism. The year kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 8 with the Shawn M. Nassaney Memorial Race on the Bryant University campus.
For the first time in the Division I era, the Bulldogs will return a pair of all-conference runners. Eimear Black (Glengormley, Ireland) and David Hurley (Ashaway, R.I.) are both back after outstanding 2011 seasons and will be joined by a strong core of runners. Black nearly won the Northeast Conference championships last season but settled for a second-place finish in the event. Hurley became the first male runner to earn All-NEC honors after finishing 14th at the conference meet.
Joining the two will be a strong group of up and coming runners. The women's side will enjoy the return of a healthy Martha Reynolds (London, England) after she missed the entire 2011 season with an injury. As a freshman, she earned a top-five finish and four top-20 finishes. The Bulldogs will also welcome back a pair of underclassmen that performed extremely well as the season went on last year, Brooke Tomasetti (Waterford, Conn.) and Kara Walsh (Waltham, Mass.). Both proved invaluable during the track and field season and both have big expectations as sophomores on the trail this season. One newcomer that could make an immediate impact is Annmarie Tuxbury (New Hartford, Conn.). The incoming freshman won the 2011 Class M State Championship in Connecticut and finished second in both 2008 and 2010.
On the men's side, juniors Jeffrey Dorosh (Naugatuck, Conn.) and Christopher Chapruet (Danvers, Mass.) both bring experience to the course. Dorosh led the Bulldogs as the New England Championships a year ago and Chapruet posted a strong year in 2011, including a career-best 13th-place finish at the Brown Invitational. Joining them will be a pair of strong freshmen in John Logan (Hanover, Mass.) and Russell Stevens (Colchester, Conn.). Logan was a state qualifier in the cross country championships in Massachusetts and Stevens was a state runner-up last fall.
The two teams will open their seasons this Saturday with the Nassaney Race. The race is held in memory of Shawn Nassaney, a former member of the Bulldog cross country and track teams that passed away during the attacks on September 11, 2001, and is coordinated by the Shawn M. Nassaney Memorial Foundation. The money supports scholarships and programs for Bryant.
Saturday's events begin with the college men's 8K at 10:00 a.m. and continue with the college women's 5K at 10:45 a.m. The Nassaney Memorial Race will then begin at the 1:00 p.m. with a pre-race ceremony being held to remember Shawn, Lynn and all of those who passed away on September 11, 2001. Cost to run in the race is $30.00, with students receiving a discount at $25.00. Registration information can be found online at http://shawnmnassaney.org/.
