Hamden, Conn. (October 31, 2009)--Freshman Megan Kinsella (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) finished in second place overall to pace the Mount St. Mary's women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the Northeast Conference Championships hosted by Quinnipiac University on Saturday afternoon. Kinsella was named Freshman of the Year in addition to All-Northeast Conference honors with her second-place finish.

On the men's side, sophomore Dylan Bernard (Frederick, Md./Urbana) finished in ninth-place overall to earn All-Northeast Conference honors for the second-straight season. Bernard helped the Mount finish in seventh place at the meet.

Kinsella finished the 5K course with a time of 18:14.9 to place second in the field behind Sacred Heart's Kimberly DeLoreto. Kinsella won a sprint over the final 400 yards to earn the second-place nod. She is the first Mount women's runner to earn Freshman of the Year honors since Roberta Pickens in 1996. She is also the first Mountaineers to earn All-NEC honors since Brittany McCann in 2005.

Freshman Kathryn Franke (Glen Arm, Md./Loch Raven) was the Mount's second-best finisher, placing 28^th in the field with a mark of 19:56.8. Senior Maura Tipping (Landsdown, Pa./Mount Merion Academy) was 37^th, freshman Colleen Smith (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) and sophomore Christina Praydis (Perry Hall, Md./The Catholic School of Baltimore) rounded out the Mount's top five.

Quinnipiac won the women's race finishing with 33 points, ahead of second-place Sacred Heart (71). Monmouth (98) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (127) also finished ahead of the Mount, which was fifth with 163 points.

Bernard was ninth overall with a time of 26:49.4 over the 8K course to earn All-NEC for the second-consecutive season. Freshman Chris Swisko (Aberdeen, Md./Calvert Hall) was 26^th overall to finish as the Mount's second-fastest runner. The remainder of the Mount's top five included senior Kyle Ryan (New Market, Md./Linganore) (33^rd), freshman Sean Caskey (Dundalk, Md./Calvert Hall) (56^th) and sophomore Michael Rath (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) (80^th).

Central Connecticut State won the men's race with 46 points, finishing ahead of Quinnipiac (82), Saint Francis (Pa.) (97), Sacred Heart (98), Wagner (154) and Monmouth (155). The Mount was seventh with 187 points.

The Mount closes out the season at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional which will be hosted by the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Md., on Saturday, November 14.