Following Strong 2016 Season, Bentley Cross Country Opens Saturday at Shacklette Invitational
WALTHAM, Mass. – Following a strong 2016 season in which the men's team qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships and the women finished fifth in the NCAA Regional, the Bentley University cross country teams will make their 2017 debut Saturday with the Shacklette Invitational at Saint Anselm College.
The women will go off at 11 am and the men's race will follow at noon.
On the men's side, coach Kevin Curtin has four of the seven who made the trek to Saint Leo, Florida for the nationals back this fall, a list headed by senior Graham Chapski (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich HS). He was the Falcons' top finisher five times last year, including the NCAA Championships, NCAA East Regional, Northeast-10 Championships and the New Englands. He was an All-East Region honoree as well as a second-team All-NE10 performer.
Also back are seniors Ryan Cadorette (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) and Seamus Higgins (Randolph, N.J./Randolph HS), along with junior Cody Murphy (Dunbarton, N.H./Goffstown HS).
The top returnees for the women's team, which graduated All-Conference honoree Julia Morena, are seniors Courtney Loughnane (Canton/Canton HS) and Marianne Bartolotta (Wantagh, N.Y./Holy Trinity HS), along with freshman Paige Fehskens (Wareham/Wareham HS).
Fehskens was the team's number two finisher in the NCAA East Regional, Loughnane was the Falcons' number two in the NE10's, and Bartolotta was the fourth Bentley runner to reach the line in both championships.
The highlight of the regular season schedule for both teams is a return visit to Nashville, Tennessee for the Trevecca Division II Showcase on Sept. 23. The Northeast-10 Championships will be contested in Westfield Oct. 22 and the NCAA East Regional will be in Buffalo, New York Nov. 4.
In the preseason USTFCCCA Division II East Region rankings, the Bentley men were listed third, behind American International and Stonehill, and the Falcon women were eighth.