STANDISH, Maine - The Chargers women's cross country team earned their second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship on Saturday in the GNAC Championships at Saint Joseph's College of Maine. 

Rapid Recap: 

• Sophomore Shannon O'Connell (Peabody, Mass.) raced her way to a first place finish with a 24:11.8 time. As the top runner, she earns the 2022 Women's Runner of the Year award. Shannon becomes the first women in Colby-Sawyer history to win an individual title at a conference meet.  
• Sophomore Samantha Carus (Brownfield, Maine) finished right behind O'Connell securing second place with a time of 24:28.4. In fifth place, sophomore Tessa Millette (Barrington, N.H.) completed the race in 25:34.0. O'Connell, Carus, and Millette earned First Team All-Conference honors after finishing in the top seven places. 
• First year Adriana Nadeau (Londonderry, N.H.) finished in eighth place with a time of 26:03.8 followed by sophomore Heather Hanson (Marstons Mills, Mass.) who placed 12^th after finishing the race in 28:23.9. Both Nadeau and Hanson earned Second Team All-Conference honors.   
• Rounding out for Colby-Sawyer was Quinn Aldrich (New Ipswich, N.H.) finishing in 33^rd place, Molly Macklin (Hudson, N.H.) in 42^nd place, Juila Huckins (New Hampton, N.H.) in 45^th, and Emma Mullen (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) in 46^th place. 
• The women's team finished with a 28 team score to earn their second GNAC title. 

Runners Spotlight:
"I'm so proud of the team's effort at GNAC's today," said O'Connell. "Everyone gave their best to accomplish goals that we had set in August. Sam and I knew we might have some competition, so we tried to push the pace early and it worked out in our favor. I'm super thankful to have a teammate like Sam because she's always pushed me to be better. Today was good momentum to get us ready for regionals in two weeks."
 
"It was a great day for the woman's team and seeing our hard work this season pay off," said Carus. "It was awesome being with an amazing group of ladies that continue to push each other every day. I'm excited to continue this momentum at regionals."
 
Coaches Corner:
"The women had an outstanding race today," said head coach Ryan O'Connell. "Shannon and Sam executed the race plan perfectly! Tessa, Adriana, and Heather all did their jobs very well and sealed the win for us. I couldn't be prouder of these ladies for the outstanding effort and faith they have given this team all year. We are onto to regionals."
 
Up Next:
The Chargers will compete in the NCAA DIII East Regionals on Saturday, November 12th.  

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