NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA (November 2, 2024): The Beacons' men's and women's cross-country teams had a career day at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's Robert Dowd course, with several lifetime performances putting the cherry on top of a well-performed championship race day.
Women's Team:

• Don't let the collective team score fool you; out of five runners for UMass Boston, four Beacs posted lifetime bests at this year's conference championship. Junior Shea Roche (Weymouth, Mass.) crossed first for the women's side, as she finished just outside the top ten with a sub-20, 19:26.80 finish for 11^th overall and Second Team All-LEC. Roche wasn't the only Beacon finishing sub-20 minutes, as senior Grace Colon (West Roxbury, Mass.) finished just behind her in 19:42.90 for 15^th overall. Following Colon was senior Harleen Bassan (Arlington, Mass.), who finished in 25:34.90, a 50-second improvement from her last 5k at the Robert Dowd on September 21. Also finishing with personal records were juniors Abagail Schell (Boston, Mass.) and Heidi Freitas, who finished in 27:34.71 and 26:45.20.

Men's Team:

• All six men who laced up for the eight-kilometer finished with personal bests. Junior Robert Cannon (Quincy, Mass.) led the charge for the men's side, crossing first for the Beacons in 26:55.7, the junior's first time running under 27 minutes. Cannon finished just inside the top 25% of finishers. Between the gap was first-year Yariel Cordero Sanchez (Puerto Rico), who finished in 29:26.4, a 30-second improvement for the first-year who has set a personal record at every competition this season. Sophomore Sky Roberts Clarke and junior Isaiah Stressman followed Cordero Sanchez, finishing back-to-back in 30:21.1 and 30:32.7, respectively. Senior Sebastian Bien-Aime (Brockton, Mass.) and sophomore Elmani Debarros (Boston, Mass.) also posted personal bests to round out the team's best performance of the season.

Coach's Corner:

• "Both teams ran great! Almost everyone had lifetime PRs (personal records), with everyone competing and running tough. I am really proud and pleased with our athletes, especially Shea Roche, who shaved off about 20 seconds off her lifetime PR! Our hard work has truly been paying off!" said Head Coach Ozzie Brown in reaction to the team's performance. In his first season as Beacons' Head Coach for the cross country team, Brown sent nine athletes to conference championships. Eight of them dropped lifetime bests, a true testimony to Brown's commitment, and the team's trust in him ultimately saw a glorious day for the Beacs at the 2024 LEC Championships.

What's Next:

• For many, the 2024 cross-country season comes to a conclusion following the LEC Championships. Select qualifiers will advance to the NCAA East Regional competition in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, on Saturday, November 16. For those who will not be competing at NCAA's, their season will continue this indoor season starting Sunday, December 8, at the Beacons Home Opener, as they play host at the Track at New Balance in Boston, Massachusetts.