Westfield State's Arouca Takes Top Individual Honors At 2008 New England Alliance Women's Cross Country Championships As Owls Take Second Place In Event

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            Westfield, Mass.--  Westfield State junior Kerry Arouca (Hanson, Mass.) followed up her MASCAC individual championship performance of last weekend by taking top honors on Saturday morning at the 2008 New England Alliance Women's Cross Country Championships at Stanley Park.

            Arouca covered the 8K layout in a time of 18:27.21 to best runner-up Rita Marcotte of Keene State by seven seconds, as Keene's Owls took top team honors in the event for the ninth straight season by besting Westfield's Owls for the top spot.  Keene State placed all five of its scorers in the top nine to post a winning score of 25 points, while Westfield State had a pair of runners in the top eight to finish second with 61 points.

            Bridgewater State sophomore Amanda Hauswirth (Methuen, Mass.) was the second fastest MASCAC performer on the day with an individual time of 19:13.14 that was good for seventh place, while Westfield State senior Marianne Mealey (Foxboro, Mass.) following seven seconds behind for an eighth place individual finish.

            Westfield State junior Ally Brown (Andover, Mass.) and freshman Nicole Brouwer (Attleboro, Mass.) also earned all-Alliance accolades by placing 13^th and 18^th, respectively, while Worcester State junior Kara Antrim (Rowley, Mass.) and Fitchburg State freshman Katelyn Page (Beverly, Mass.) rounded out the MASCAC All-Alliance performers by finishing 15^th and 20th, respectively, with times of 20:00.44 and 20:36.54.

            Bridgewater State finished fifth overall in the final Alliance team standings, while Worcester State, Fitchburg State and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts finished seventh, ninth and 10^th, respectively.