WALTHAM, Mass. – Despite missing the conference championship due to injury, Bentley University junior Tara Dooley (Lee/Lee HS) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

Dooley, who is expected to run in this Sunday's NCAA Division II East Regional at Franklin Park, has competed in three meets this year and has excelled in all three. She was second in the Dartmouth Invitational, second in the Central Connecticut State Invitational and third in New Englands, with the only runners to finish in front of her this fall being Abbey D'Agostino of Dartmouth, Rosa Moriello of Boston University and Eimear Black of Bryant University.

Dooley, Bentley's number one finisher in every race she has competed in since her arrival on campus in September 2011, finished second in both the Northeast-10 Championships and the NCAA East Regional in both 2011 and 2012. She's advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships both years with finishes of 49th as a freshman and 58th as a sophomore.

Amazingly, Dooley never competed in cross country before coming to Bentley. While in high school, she excelled in basketball, lacrosse and soccer.

Bentley is currently ranked second by the USTFCCCA in the NCAA Division II East Region and will be vying for one of three berths to the NCAA nationals on Sunday.