BOSTON, Mass. – The Stony Brook University women's cross country team competed in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship on Friday and sophomore Fiona McLoughlin registered a standout performance. McLoughlin finished in 11^th-place overall and was just two seconds shy of earning an automatic qualifier into the National Championship. As a team, the Seawolves came in 13^th-place.
 
McLoughlin can still earn an at-large berth into the National Championship that is set to take place on Saturday, November 20, in Tallahassee, Fla. The NCAA Selection Show is set to air on NCAA.com on Saturday, November 13, at 5 p.m.
 
Rachel Ruggiero, Nicole Garcia, Grace Weigele, and Sabrina Spezia all had strong showings at the Regional Championships. Ruggiero, Garcia, and Weigele all finished within the top 85, while Spezia placed inside the top 120. Over 250 runners competed in the Regional Championship on Friday.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• McLoughlin led the pack for the Seawolves as she earned an 11^th-place finish with a final time of 21:00. She recorded an average mile time of 5:38.
• Ruggiero came in 66^th-place as she crossed the finish line in 22:07. She tallied an average mile time of 5:56.
• Garcia placed not far behind Ruggiero in 74^th-place. She recorded a Regionals time of 22:11 as she ran at a pace of 5:57.
• Weigele came in 85^th-place with a time of 22:25, while Spezia placed 117^th with a time of 22:52.

QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Our team performance was decent, I feel if a couple of the girls had run like they did two weeks ago we would have made the top 10 which was our goal. Obviously, Fiona's run was fabulous, but I also thought that Rachel, Grace, and Sabrina produced good runs on the day.
 
Fiona's run was just simply fantastic. For her first time competing in this championship she showed lots of composure and maturity. Despite slipping twice on the wet course, she still put herself in with a chance of making the NCAA Championships. She missed an automatic spot by two seconds, but may still be in the mix for an at large spot, we will find out tomorrow if she is in or not," said head coach Andy Ronan.
 
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