Westfield, Mass. – Senior Sean Beney (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) placed ninth to lead the Le Moyne College men's cross country team to an eighth-place finish at the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Saturday at Stanley Park. Freshman Eva Keohane (Brewerton, N.Y./Central Square) placed 18th to lead the women's team to a fourth-place finish.
 
On the men's side, Stonehill College snapped American International College's streak of three straight conference championships with 44 points after having five of the top 13 runners. American International, which hosted the championship, finished just two points back in second place after four Yellow Jackets placed in the top seven. Southern New Hampshire University moved up two spots from last year by placing third with 105 points, while Adelphi University tallied 135 points to place fourth. Bentley University recorded 139 points to round out the top five teams. The Dolphins registered 177 points, an improvement of 42 points from last year, to finish in second place for the second straight year. Leakey Kipkosgei from American International won his second straight individual conference championship with a time of 24:38.67 to give the Yellow Jackets their ninth consecutive individual champion.
 
Stonehill College won its ninth straight conference championship on the women's side and its 16th in the last 18 years with 39 total points after having five of the top 14 runners. Assumption College was the runner-up for the second straight year with 41 points. Merrimack College moved up one place from last year to place third after registering 157 points. The Dolphins tied for their best finish in 22 years in the conference with their fourth-place finish after totaling 160 points. The 2004 team also placed fourth. The host Yellow Jackets finished fifth with 165 points. Stonehill's Emily Knox won the individual conference championship by registering a time of 21:37.02.
 
By virtue of its finishes, Le Moyne claims the two cross country points in the year-long "Upstate Challenge" between the Dolphins and The College of Saint Rose. The Golden Knights placed 12th in the women's race and did not field a full team on the men's side. Through eight of the 17 sports, the Dolphins hold a 7.5-0.5 lead over the Golden Knights.
 
In the men's race, Beney collected his second straight Northeast-10 Conference All-Conference honors by landing on the second team after navigating the eight-kilometer course in 25:27.28 to place ninth among the 150 competitors. Beney, who posted an improvement of eight places and 26.1 seconds from last year, tallied the best finish by a Dolphin since Jake McAndrews placed eighth in 2007 and the second-best finish since the 1998 championship. Sophomore Chris Davitt (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem) recorded a time of 25:57.86 to place 22nd, an improvement of one minute and 19 places from his freshman year, while classmate Nick Taylor (Endicott, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) was five spots back with a time of 26:12.61, 19 seconds and five placements better than a year ago. Junior Griffin Klein (Fair Haven, N.Y./Red Creek) improved by 18 spots from last year by placing 49th in 27:01.67, which is 55 seconds faster than last year. Sophomore Dom Battaglia (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) rounded out the team's five scorers by placing 111th in 29:04.56, which is 16 seconds faster than last year.
 
Keohane earned Northeast-10 Conference Third Team All-Conference accolades after completing the six-kilometer course in 22:41.92 as just the second of 30 freshmen to finish. Junior Brittney Mack (Poestenkill, N.Y./Averill Park) climbed 24 places in the standings to finish 27th in the 141-member field in 23:15.85, an improvement of 1:18.5 from last year. Senior Jeanette Cudney (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) registered a time of 23:30.57, five seconds faster than last year, to cross the finish line 40th. Freshman Haleigh Pascual (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) was the sixth freshman to finish with a time of 23:51.22 to place 47th, while sophomore Siara Clos (Syracuse, N.Y./Onondaga) was the next finisher in 23:54.13, 1:08 faster and 18 spots better than her first appearance at the championship.
 
Le Moyne is back in action on Saturday, November 4 at the NCAA East Regional at the Audubon Golf Course in Amherst, N.Y.