Coast Guard will have to replace three seniors that were consistently top scoring runners each and every week. The Bears will be led in 2017 by senior captain Rachel Burchill and junior Anita Green, the duo were the third and fourth team finishers last season at the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships as the Bears placed third as team. Burchill ran a season-best time of 19:24.81 at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational and she was the team's third finisher at the NEWMAC Championship with a time of 20:07.
“All three have looked good in the preseason and will play a critical role in keeping our scoring squad as tightly packed as possible,” said head coach Ethan Brown. They will also help pace the rest of the team and anyone else in contention for a scoring place. A lot of our returners clearly put in some work over the summer and are ready to make some noise in the conference right off the bat.”
Freshman Kaitlyn Mooney will lead a solid group of rookies as she will be a top contender not only in the NEWMAC, but she will also look for a Top 35 spot at the Division III New England Championship this year. Another trio of freshmen, Quinn Epkey, Maeve Roach and Emma Sims will look to match their high school PR’s as well as work their way into scoring position for the Bears this season.
“We lost three great seniors, however even with those loses, I think our team is preparing for a big year,” said Brown. “Last year we finished third at conference, our highest finish in three years and we are looking to continue to be in the fight for a top three spot again, possibly even targeting the runner up spot as long as we can stay healthy and focused as me move into the later part of the season.”