MANSFIELD, Mass. - A year after capturing both the men's and women's NE10 cross country championships, the Southern Connecticut State Owls were selected again by the league's coaches to win conference crown. SCSU swept the cross and indoor/outdoor track & field championships last season.
The Owls beat out Franklin Pierce on the men's side, led by returning 2022 NE10 champion Jonathan Volpe, the league's runner-up last fall. SCSU placed four of the top nine runners at the NE10 Championship last fall and features three of those racers again with Owen Gagne and William Lamburn as seniors on the roster.
Franklin Pierce received the lone non-SCSU first place vote, headlined by Wondu Summa -- one of the best distance athletes in the conference over the last two seasons and the 2023 cross country champion. Adelphi ranked third in the poll, returning Jake Orfano (17th in 2023).
On the women's side the Owls were the clear favorite, but the race for second in the preseason poll couldn't have been closer, with three points seperating SNHU, Adelphi and Saint Michael's for second, third and fourth. The most notable returnee from the challangers is Saint Michaels sophomore Tess Drury, the conference Freshman of the Year in 2023. Drury was third at the NE10 Championship to Adelphi's Marsh twins, who graduated. Sophomore Fran Peterson also ran a Top-10 race for the Purple Knights last fall, clocking in seventh in her NE10 debut.
SCSU's top four female runners were all non-seniors in 2023, with Briana Grecco placing sixth, Courtney Henchcliffe in ninth, Megan Whitnell in 10th and Peyton Dauphinais in 12th. With that quartet the Owls secured 25% of the top 12 finishers at last season's championship.
Corrina Obernesser returns to headline thenSouthern New Hampshire roster that looks to replace Kelsey Seamans, the NE10 Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year and a top-10 finisher in the NE10 Championship.
Adelphi was clearly on the upswing last fall, but will work hard this season to replace both Katherine and Isabel Marsh. The twin sisters went 1-2 in western Mass last year, finishing nine seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
2024 NE10 Men's and Women's Cross Country Coaches' Polls
| Rank |
Men's Poll |
Votes |
Rank |
Women's Poll |
Votes |
| 1 |
Southern Connecticut |
100 (10) |
1 |
Southern Connecticut |
99 (9) |
| 2 |
Franklin Pierce |
83 (1) |
2 |
SNHU |
77 (2) |
| 3 |
Adelphi |
74 |
3 |
Saint Michael's |
76 |
| 4 |
Bentley |
69 |
4 |
Adelphi |
75 |
| 5 |
Assumption |
67 |
5 |
Saint Anselm |
61 |
| 6 |
SNHU |
58 |
6 |
Bentley |
59 |
| 7 |
New Haven |
45 |
7 |
Assumption |
44 |
| 8 |
Saint Anselm |
39 |
8 |
Franklin Pierce |
41 |
| 9 |
Saint Michael's |
37 |
9 |
New Haven |
38 |
| 10 |
American Int'l |
23 |
10 |
American Int'l |
24 |
| 11 |
Pace |
10 |
11 |
Pace |
10 |
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.