Moran is the top finisher for Rivier

NASHUA, NH. - The 18th running of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Cross Country Championship took place on the beautiful campus of Rivier University on Saturday, October 27th. Norwich University claimed the Men's Championship after having four top ten finishers.

Rivier University played hosts to the 2012 Championship, which was held in Nashua, NH for the first time since 2009. It was a beautiful day, weather-wise as there were clear skies and a temperature of around 64 degrees. The fourteen GNAC member institutions made the easy race-day adjustments and the two meets went off without a hitch.

On the men's side, after a 2nd place finish in 2011, Norwich University captured the 2012 GNAC Championship as four Cadets were able to finish in the top 10. Freshman Adam Miller (Claremont, NH) was the top Cadet runner as he crossed the line at 26:40 – third overall and was named the Rookie of the Year.

JWU senior Jeff Hartman (Osseo, MN) earned back-to-back GNAC Runner of the Year honors after pacing the field of 91 male runners with his 8k time of 25:51. Emerson's Kyle Oppenheimer (Kingston, NH) captured 2nd place with a time of 26:37 followed by Miller in third. JWU's Brian Dinan (Geneva, NY) came in fourth with a time of 26:42 and fifth place belongs to Lasell's Alex Weselcouch (East Haddam, CT) as he checked in with a 26:46 mark

Also earning GNAC All-Conference honors with their top-ten finishes were Norwich's Luke Moeckel (Bradenton, FL) , David Rosenthal (Pasadena, MD) followed by Anna Maria College's Nick Hummel (Wilbraham, MA), JWU's David Tores (Ann Arbor, MI.) and Emmanuel College's Nate Bruno (Lenox, MA).

Freshman Joey Moran (Manchester, NH) was the top Rivier finisher as he crossed the line at 29:52. Senior Kevin Conley (Nashua, NH) finished 68th overall with a time of 33:39 while freshmen Jordan Petro (Manchester, NH), Mike Janerico (Falmouth, MA) and Cory Bounpahakdy (Norwich, CT) all finished the meet for the Raiders.  

For the second time in three years, Emmanuel's Tony DaRocha was named GNAC Coach of the Year. He took home the Men's honors back in 2010 and was selected as the Women's Coach of the Year last season.