SCSU Women's Cross Country Finishes 10th At 2026 NEICAAA Cross Country Championships

Women's Cross Country 10/9/2026 10:06:00 PM

SCSU Women's Cross Country Finishes 10th At 2026 NEICAAA Cross Country Championships

CONTOOCOOK, N.H. — Southern Connecticut State University women's cross country finished 10th in a deep Division I-heavy field at the 2026 NEICAAA Cross Country Championships at Hopkinton Fairgrounds.

The Owls totaled 238 points in the women's 5K to finish 10th of 18 scoring teams. Boston College won the meet with 47 points, followed by Providence with 76 and Bryant with 78. Vermont (132), Holy Cross (148), New Hampshire (191), Sacred Heart (207), Central Connecticut (208) and Merrimack (214) rounded out the top nine ahead of Southern.

Junior Erin Sola led Southern for the third time this fall, placing 23rd overall in 18:21.2 to score 22 team points. Sola, who opened the season fifth at the UHart Invitational 3K in 10:55.0 and later led the Owls at UMass Dartmouth, was the top Division II finisher in the top 25 against a field dominated by Division I All-New England programs. Vermont freshman Zoey McNabb won the individual title in 17:14.6.

Sophomore Mckenzie David was second for the Owls in 41st place overall in 18:47.2 for 39 points. David has been a consistent second scorer behind Sola, finishing seventh at Hartford and scoring again at Dartmouth before Thursday.

Senior Kaylee Gravel finished 59th overall in 18:59.4 for 54 points, and senior Peyton Dauphinais followed three spots later in 62nd in 19:02.4 for 57 points. Freshman Michelle Blackburn closed the scoring five in 79th in 19:15.4 for 66 points, giving Southern a 54.2-second spread from first to fifth scorer over the 5K distance.

The Owls' sixth and seventh runners provided insurance in the tight battle for 10th. Sophomore Maya Fisher placed 135th overall in 20:37.4 for 95 points, freshman Skielyz Reyes was 145th in 20:48.7 for 101 points, and freshman Sylvie Hiltz finished just behind in 20:52.0. Sophomore Anna Wayne (22:35.3) and freshman Isabella Duarte (22:38.9) also competed.

Southern's 238-239 edge over Stonehill came down to the fifth runner, with Blackburn's 19:15.4 holding off Stonehill's fifth at 19:04.0 but with enough support behind to flip the score. The Owls finished well clear of Bentley (339), Brown (348), New Haven (446) and St. Michael's (463) among regional Division II and Division III opponents.

The race, contested at 2:45 p.m. as Race 2 on the Hopkinton Fairgrounds course, drew 208 finishers plus did-not-finishers from Dartmouth, UMass Lowell, Tufts and Harvard, which did not factor into team scoring. The 5K distance is the standard championship length for the NEICAAA meet before teams move to 6K for NCAA regional competition.

For Southern, which swept NE10 and NCAA East Regional titles with both men's and women's programs in 2025 and opened 2026 with a runner-up finish at Hartford (41 points behind UConn), Thursday was a test of depth against New England's top Division I programs. The Owls ran without the low-point total they posted at Hartford (56:12 total time for 3K) but showed pack stability, with four runners between 18:47 and 19:02 behind Sola.

The Owls now turn toward the championship portion of the schedule. With Sola, David, Gravel and Dauphinais providing veteran scoring and Blackburn leading a freshman class that includes Reyes, Hiltz and Duarte, Southern projects as a contender to defend its Northeast 10 Conference on Nov. 7 and to qualify for the NCAA Division II East Regional on Nov. 21.

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