BOSTON - For the second straight season, Will Feldman has given leadership roles to Emily Manfra and Emma Weisse as the third-year head coach named the senior pair co-captains for the 2019 Suffolk women's cross country campaign.
The twosome return to their captain roles after leading the Rams to a runner-up showing at the GNAC Championships a year ago, the program's highest in recent history.
"Selecting Emily and Emma as captains this year was an easy choice," Feldman said. "They have not only rewritten the Suffolk record books and have proven to be two of the best runners in the country, but are the backbone of our program and provide tremendous leadership .They are not only talented, but are two of the hardest working runners that I've ever coached. The amount of confidence that their presence provides to the rest of the team can't be overstated. I'm excited for our freshman to have the opportunity to learn from two of the best this year."
Since running in blue-and-gold they each have made a name for themselves.
In 2016 as freshmen, they became the first-ever female Ram runners to take home All-GNAC first-team honors at the conference championships. Manfra put together a runner-up performance to claim GNAC Rookie of the Year status, while Weisse finish two seconds behind her classmate.
A year later, Weisse shined on the conference championship course once again. As a sophomore in 2017 she took second place to become the first Suffolk student-athlete, either male or female, in the history of the program to garner multiple all-league first-team recognition.
Last season, Manfra and Weisse continued to make their names known.
Weisse shined on the conference stage. The Hampden, Massachusetts, product came through the finisher's chute first to be crowned the individual champion, another first in the Rams' record books, and garnered her third consecutive all-league nod.
Manfra, meanwhile, claimed second and picked up all-league accolade for the second time in her career. The Stoneham, Massachusetts, native went on to shine brighter on the regional level where she claimed 17th among 339 competitors to punch her ticket to the 2018 NCAA Division III National Championships, the first-ever Suffolk runner to do so. At Nationals in Winneconne, Wisconsin, Nov. 17, the all-region honoree finished 83rd to complete a stand-up season.
This season, the duo look at add more to their running resumes. Manfra attempts to make back-to-back nationals appearances, while Weisse strives to make it to the national stage for the first time in her career.
Five meets will prep the pair for postseason races will Suffolk's 2019 season set to open Saturday, Aug. 31 in Keene, New Hampshire at the Early Bird Invitational.