Graduate students Steve Stromski and Alexa Van Voorhis of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth cross country programs earned All-Region Recognition for their performances at the NCAA Division III regional Championships Saturday at Bowdoin College.
MEN
The Corsair men finished ninth overall out of 33 teams with 336 points. Stromski placed 33nd overall out of the 233-runner field with a time of 26:33.7 to be named All-Region.
"Steve raced down the final stretch of the course this afternoon to earn his All-Region honor, a recognition I know he's wanted to reach throughout his college career," said Head Coach Mike Salem. "Coming off of a summer where he battled through injury and not getting to train how he hoped, it's been a great past month of running to see him round into form and peak for these championships. His growth over the years with us has always continued to impress us, and to have this accolade included in the final chapters of "The Legend of Stromski" is a great recognition of his dedication and brotherhood he has with his teammates."
Next up was junior Jake Paris in 47th (27:23.3), followed by junior Frank Wenner in 50th (27:27.8), senior Vinny Gardner in 93rd (28:47.7), freshman Benjamin Davignon in 119th (29:19.7), grad student Okan Canaran (29:39.4) and freshman Colin Ozturk (29:53.2).
"I'm very proud of how our men's team competed today," continued Salem. "Clawing and grinding for our best regional finish in many years. They've wanted to break into the top ten in the regional poll all season, but despite getting votes we just couldn't break into weekly rankings. I love that they decided to go after it today and take ninth, it should give them a lot of confidence for what they bring to the coming track seasons and future years of XC."
WOMEN
Van Voorhis led the Corsairs to a 21st-place finish with 573 points out of 35 competing teams. Van Voorhis placed 34th overall in the 243-runner field to earn All-Region.
"To see Alexa lay everything she's got left into her final college cross country race and be rewarded with All-Region honors is such a beautiful capstone for her," said Salem. "She has grown and improved so much in her time with our teams through the challenges that forced her to become the strong, confident and positive runner that performed at such a high level today. But more so than just the honors she's accumulated this season, I have no doubt that her real legacy is being a stellar role model and mentor to her teammates on and off the course. I'm looking forward to her seasons the rest of the year, I hope they'll be as fun as this one was."
Also running for the Corsairs were freshman Kiara Cerruti (25:56.3), sophomore Bee Greenberg (26:53.8), freshman Tori Schweitzer (27:09.7), senior Mckenzie Canuel (27:38.8), sophomore Julia Latura (27:41.2) and freshman Grace Russell (30:59.0).
"Today was a great finish for our women's team," said Salem. "they've been incredibly diligent in their training all season and it's satisfying to see that work compete against the best of our region."
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