Poto Garners All-New England Honors to Lead Women's Cross Country

WATERFORD, Conn. -- Senior Danielle Poto (North Andover, Mass.) garnered All-New England honors to lead the Bridgewater State University women's cross country team at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Cross Country Championships hosted by Connecticut College on Saturday at Harkness Memorial State Park.

The Bears placed 24th overall in the women's team standings.

Poto finished 31st overall out of a field of 390 harriers as she covered the six-kilometer course in a personal-best time of 22:20.4.

Junior Emily Ducharme (North Attleboro, Mass.) recorded a time of 24:15.5 (143rd place), while classmate Rachel Ducharme (North Attleboro, Mass.) crossed the line in 24:20.8 (152nd place) to round out BSU's top three runners.

Junior Maryann Gong of MIT won the individual championship with a time of 21:36.3.

Williams College captured the team title while Tufts University, Middlebury College, MIT, Wellesley College and Keene State College rounded out the top six. Williams and Tufts automatically qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship.  Middleburt, MIT, Wellesley and Keene State are among those that will be competing for at large bids to the NCAA Division III Championships. In total, 16 teams nationwide will qualify at the discretion of the USTFCCCA selection committee. Each region is limited to a maximum of six teams.