For the second-straight season, Quinnipiac women’s cross country ran past the pack and then some.The Bobcats, powered by five All-MAAC performances, captured the conference title in the MAAC Championships Saturday.
“They executed everything we asked them,” head coach Carolyn Martin said. “We had several individuals that I think could have taken the (individual) title, (but) we talked to them a lot about working together as a team.”
Those individuals — senior Corinne Barney (third), senior Alessandra Zaffina (fourth), sophomore Rachel St. Germain (sixth), graduate student Emily Young (eighth) and senior Liv DeStefano (10th) — led the Bobcats to just 31 points, the second-best by a Quinnipiac team in MAAC history.
“The team is so close together, that we always just pack up every race, every workout,” Barney said. “So any given day can be any of us leaving the race. Even though it was me today, I knew I had everyone right behind me and right close by.”
Barney’s time of 21:01.05 surpassed her personal best in the conference meet by 44 seconds, and led the Quinnipiac squad which she called an “honor to be a part of.”
“Last year, we finally got off the cliff,” Barney said. “We were able to do it again this year too, which was so nice.”
Following the All-MAAC runners were sophomore Sierra Gray (20th), junior Lydia Keys (28th) and graduate student Marisa Keiser (31st).
In addition to the five all-conference winners, Martin also received the MAAC’s Coach of the Year Award after leading the Bobcats to the third title in program history. Quinnipiac also became the first women’s squad to repeat as conference champions since Iona won six-straight from 2016-2021.
“We’ve never been able to come back and do it again,” Martin said. “To me, this marked kind of a historical (moment) for me to get back. Anyone can go in and win it once. Can you come back and win it again?”
For Barney, it felt just as special to cap off her senior season with a ring, even though she told The Chronicle she’s returning for her fifth year — “I’m not done yet,” she said.
“We’re just so close together, like race-wise and team-wise, (we) just click together so well,” Barney said. “All the pieces are finally into place and it’s just so cool to see it all play out.”
The Bobcats now prepare for the NCAA Northeast Regional meet on Nov. 10.
