Women's Cross Country: Lasers' 2021 season recap

Photo by Mike Broglio

Posted: Jul 13, 2022

NEWTON, Mass. - There were plenty of standout moments for the Lasell University women's cross country team during the fall 2021 season.

The Lasers earned first-place honors out of four teams at the USJ Blue Jay Invitational on Sept. 17, as Aly Richard finished first overall out of 29 runners with a time of 22:04.5 on the 5-kilometer course. Meagan Phillips was the squad's second-place finisher and tallied an individual record of 25:07.2.

Richard was the unit's top-performer in all eight meets and placed in the top-13 overall three times. Vierling was the Lasers' second-place finisher in 5-of-8 meets, while Cochrane finished in the team's third slot four times and second position one time.

During the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup on Oct. 2 in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Lasell saw four student-athletes earn career-best times and one runner recorded a season-best mark. On the 5-kilometer course, Richard (21:19.42), Emma Vierling (22:59.17), Molly Cochrane (25:08.48) and Emily Hong (26:29.94) tallied personal records, while Shakira Henriquez (24:04.64) posted a season-best time.

The Lasers saw three student-athletes finish in the top half of the individual standings at the GNAC Championship. Richard was the unit's first-place finisher, crossing the finish line 19th overall out of 72, while Vierling earned the 32nd-place slot with a season-best time of 29:40 in the 6 kilometer. Sophie Fistori (34:43) and Averie Greeley (37:32) broke personal records at the meet.

Greeley (27:09.16) and Fistori (30:05.67) broke personal records in the 5 kilometer during the season-opening Colby-Sawyer Charger Invitational on Sept. 4.

Richard placed seventh overall with a career-best time of 27:26.1 during the 6 kilometer at the Elms College Blazer Classic on Sept. 25. During the meet, Cochrane (31:22.0) and Phillips (34:25.8) broke personal records. Hong shattered an individual record in the 6 kilometer (35:29.9) at the Suffolk University Invitational on Oct. 16, while Henriquez submitted a season-best time in the same event (30:42.8).

Director of Athletic Communications Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lasell.edu.

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