Bouchard Leads Men's Cross Country at Alliance Championships

WESTFIELD, Mass. --  Bridgewater State College senior Avery Bouchard (Fall River, MA) was the top individual MASCAC performer on Saturday afternoon at the 2008 New England Alliance Men's Cross Country Championships at Stanley Park.  Last week's MASCAC individual champion posted a time of 25:50 even over the 8K layout to finish nine seconds behind Southern Maine junior Tyler Jasud for top honors.

Keene State claimed the team title in the event for the 11^th time in 12 years, as the Owls posted a team score of 32 points to best 2007 champion Southern Maine's total of 44 points. UMass Dartmouth was third in the team competition with 100 points on the afternoon.

Bouchard was one of four MASCAC individuals to earn All-Alliance accolades on the day.  Senior Phil McCormack (Fitchburg, Mass.) of 2008 MASCAC team champion Fitchburg State placed 11^th with a time of 26:19.12.  Worcester State senior Forest Wilber (Barre, Mass.), last year's MASCAC Runner of the Year, was 13^th individually with a time of 26:24.75, while Massachusetts Maritime senior Kyle Ingersoll (Wakefield, Mass.) earned all-Alliance honors for a second straight season, finishing 17^th with a time of 26:44.88.

Fitchburg State was the top MASCAC squad in team competition with a fourth place overall finish, as the Falcons (129 points) bested fifth place Westfield State by 20 points and sixth place Bridgewater State by 28 points.  Massachusetts Maritime was seventh overall, while Worcester State added a ninth place team performance on the day.