Pearsons finishes 8th, WXC team finishes 9th at Pop Crowell Invitational

(Wenham, Mass.) The University of New England took home the team crowns in both the men's and women's events at the annual Pop Crowell Invitational in the Gordon woods on Saturday morning. Gordon's Damon Kilgore (Londonderry, N.H.) took home the men's individual title, while three UNE female runners crossed the finish line within two seconds of each other to take all top three finishes. Lexie Basillere (Kingston, N.H.) and Angel Waters (Limerick, Maine) each finished the 5K race in 19:56.

The Nor'easters had a strong showing in both events this morning, beginning with the women's 5K. The first four finishers all represented UNE and finished over half a minute before the fifth-place runner crossed the line. Brittney Sorbello (Dover, N.H.) and Tiana Thomas (Waterville, Maine) finished third and fourth respectively. Salve Regina's Aubrey Palmquist (5th) and Olivia Wilson (9th), Emerson's Ali Dokus (6th), Rivier University's freshman Anna Pearsons of Kingston, Mass. (8th) and Gordon's Mariah Geiger (Londonderry, N.H.) rounded out the rest of the top 10. UNE's fifth runner, Annelise Donahue (South Portland, Maine) came up with a seventh-place finish.

With a handful of top-10 finishes, UNE closed the women's race with 17 points to take home the hardware. Fellow Commonwealth Coast Conference team, Salve Regina, came in second place with 62 points and host Gordon rounded out the top three with a score of 104. The Raiders had a team finish of 9th with a score of 240.

Finishing behind Pearsons (20:46) for the Raiders were sophomore Grace Flanagan of Lebanon, N.H. (23:41), sophomore Kathleen Maggio of Londonderry, N.H. (25:33), senior Heather Devereaux of Londonderry, N.H. (26:32) and junior Alicia Brown of Chichester, N.H. (28:51).