EASTON, Mass. -- Bentley University finished fourth among 16 teams in the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Cross Country Championships, held Sunday morning at Stonehill College.

Bentley, one of only two teams to have five runners finish in the top 40, had a score of 124. Stonehill captured the team championship with just 22 points, and both UMass-Lowell (41) and Saint Rose (119) also finished in front of the Falcons.

Bentley was led by sophomore Amy Varsell (Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills HS) and freshman Ashley Nichols (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor HS), both of whom earned All-Conference recognition. Varsell earned a spot on the second team by finishing 11th with a 5,000-meter time of 19:05.0, and Nichols placed 20th in 19:17.1, good for third-team All-NE-10 honors.

Junior Evelyn Marrero (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam HS) was Bentley's number three runner, placing 26th in 19:24.8. The Falcons' top five also included freshman Leah Schiller (Tipp City, Ohio/ Tippecanoe HS) in 34th (19:37.4) and sophomore Caitlyn Fahey (Bridgewater/Coyle-Cassidy HS) in 40th (19:50.5).  The team's top five had a split of 45.5 seconds, lowest of any team.

AIC sophomore Jeptui Cherutich took individual honors, with her time of 18:02.3 besting runner-up Jill Alves of Stonehill by about 24 seconds.

The next action for the Falcons is the NCAA Division II East Regional on Nov. 21 at Franklin Park.

NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Easton, Mass.

Team Scoring: 1. Stonehill 56, 2. UMass-Lowell 97, 3. Saint Rose 119, 4. Bentley 124, 5. Southern Connecticut 128, 6. Merrimack 223, 6. Southern New Hampshire 223, 8. Saint Anselm 232, 8. Le Moyne 232, 10. New Haven 249, 11. American International 261, 12. Adelphi 291, 13. St. Michael's 293, 14. Pace 341, 15. Assumption 415, 16. Franklin Pierce 512.

Top Individuals: 1. Jeptui Cherutich, AIC, 18:02.3; 2. Jill Alves, Stonehill, 18:26.2; 3. Alasua Griebel, Southern Conn, 18:35.2; 4. Kelly Walton, UMass-Lowell, 18:39.1;5. MJ Ohoueu, AIC, 18:43.5.

Bentley Runners: 11. Amy Varsell, 19:05.0; 20. Ashley, Nichols, 19:17.1; 26. Evelyn Marrero, 19:24.8; 34. Leah Schiller, 19:37.4; 40. Caitlyn Fahey, 19:50.5; 61. Brittany Roderman, 20:23.1; 120. Heather Hallstrom, 22:29.2.