WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University junior Tara Dooley (Lee/Lee HS) has been selected as the Division II East Region Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after her first-place finish in the NCAA Division II East Regional Sunday at Franklin Park.

Dooley was also named to the USTFCCCA Division II All-East Region team for the third straight year and was selected as the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for the fourth time this fall.

Joining Dooley on the All-Region team were graduate student Amy Varsell (Burlington, Conn./ Lewis S. Mills HS) and senior captain Ashley Nichols (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor HS).

The three helped Bentley finish second in the 26-team regional, a performance that qualified the Falcons for the NCAA Division II Championships for the second time in three years. That will be held November 23 in Spokane, Wash., which was also the site of the nationals when coach Kevin Curtin's team qualified in 2011. That team also featured Dooley, Varsell and Nichols as its top three.

After finishing second in 2011 and 2012, Dooley posted a time of 21.19.2 over the 6,000-meter Franklin Park course to win by 36.9 seconds. It was the first win of the year for the Northeast-10 Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year, who had previously finished third in the New Englands and second in both the Dartmouth Invitational and the Central Connecticut State Invitational.

Varsell, a five-time track All-America, followed Dooley across the finish line, with a time of 21:56.1, and Nichols placed eighth in 22.58.6 as she improved on her 2012 showing by 21 places.