Anchored by senior leadership, which was complimented by standout rookies, the 2019 Suffolk women’s cross country team had another record book season.
Emily Manfra paved the path for Will Feldman’s roster. The senior not only paced the blue-and-gold’s squad, but won each of the meets the Rams ran in including the earliest portion of the schedule including the Early Bird Invitational and UMass Dartmouth Invitational.
Suffolk’s final non-championship course was its own as the Rams welcomed 21 teams to Franklin Park for the Suffolk Invite, which dueled as the second annual Battle for Boston Common, October 19.
Once again Manfra made her name known as the individual winner of both to help the hosts capture the neighborhood battle with Emerson for the second time in as many years.
In the first weekend of November the Rams trekked to Standish, Maine for its final GNAC Championship, as the team transitions to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) next season.
Suffolk left everything on the SJC Course, the league’s first 6K, as the runner-up for the second consecutive campaign, while Manfra won the individual crown.
Two weeks later Suffolk’s squad put together the best team showing at New Englands in program history with a 28th-place performance highlighted by Manfra’s 14th overall finish. That individual effort punched the senior’s ticket to nationals for the second time in as many seasons.
Although the team season was wrapped up, Manfra made her name and Suffolk’s known in Louisville, Kentucky, at NCAAs.
She saved her best 6K performance for last, quite literally, as she ran her final collegiate cross country course in 22:31.1, good for 54th out of the 277 competitors, a career-best, to secure her spot as one of, if not the best Suffolk women’s cross country runner in program history.
THROUGH THE LENS
GNAC runner of the year
Emily Manfra became the most decorated GNAC cross country runner in Suffolk history November 2 when she cruised past her conference counterparts in the league’s first-ever 6k championship race.
The senior clocked in at 23:11 to top the 94-runner field, claiming runner of the year status and all-conference first-team honors.
Manfra is the second Suffolk student-athlete to be the league’s top runner, joining her co-captain Emma Weisse, who earned the feat in 2018. The Stoneham, Massachusetts’ top honor went along with her third first-team nod, which ties Weisse for the program record.
gnac coach of the year
For the second straight year, Will Feldman was voted by his peers as GNAC Coach of the Year.
Feldman directed the Rams to a league runner-up finish for the second time in as many years and has seen four Rams garner 11 all-league recognition under his guidance with four this season. That number includes including the program’s only runners of the years in Emma Weisse (2018) and Emily Manfra (2019).
Marin Stamer rounded out the top-10 field with a time of 25:29 in her first collegiate championship race en route to second-team all-league honors.
second team spots
In her second season on the course, Skyler Spanbauer put together a time of 25:48 to take 13th overall, good for a spot on the all-conference second team, her first all-league nod of her career.
SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM SELECTION
Sophomore Olivia Chilcott represented the Rams on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team, which was established to honor one student-athlete from each team in the conference for outstanding dedication to sportsmanship and for their portrayal of good sportsmanship, fair play and a positive attitude.
ALL-REGION ACCOLADES
Emily Manfra received her second all-region nod from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
She earned the recognition after compiling not only the best performance by a Ram, but the highest finish for a GNAC student-athlete in the 6K era at New Englans, with a 14th-place showing, upstaging her own record of 17th in the 2018 field.
The senior set a 5:53.3-mile pace to complete the course in 21:47.3.
NATIONAL STAGE
Emily Manfra put an exclamation point on her senior season as she added another notch on her nationals belt with her second straight trip to the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships November 23.
She earned her right to race with a 14th-place performance at regionals for an at-large bid to the big dance.
The senior from Stoneham, Massachusetts, became the first Ram to run at the national level in 2018 and was the first runner in both program and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) history to compete at NCAAs twice with her appearance this season.
At nationals, against Division III’s best-of-the-best, she put together the fastest 6K time of her collegiate career and came through the finisher’s chute in 22:31.6, good for 54th overall in the 277-runner field.
ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
In the classroom, the Rams put together a 3.68 GPA, to hit the academic qualification and had the best showing at regionals, a 28th-place performance in Brunswick, Maine, November 16, to take home its third straight U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) academic award.
Overall 212 women’s teams earned the distinction, which has been awarded to squads since 1995-96, for teams that achieve a 3.10 combined GPA and compile a team score at a NCAA Regional Meet.
Suffolk’s GPA was tied for 28th best of the over 200 teams honored and the Rams are just one of two GNAC teams, joining Emmanuel, honored with the distinction.
Manfra defines student-athlete
Emily Manfra made the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team for the second time in her career for cross country, third overall, after another stellar season.
For a student-athlete to be considered he/she must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale and finish in the top-25 percent of their respective regional championship meet.
Manfra blew those qualifications out of the water with a near perfect GPA of 3.99 as a biology major and a 14th-place performance at New Englands.
Cosida academic all-district
For the second straight year Suffolk women’s cross country and track and field’s Emily Manfra was acknowledged for her efforts on the course and in the classroom as the senior was dubbed CoSIDA Academic All-District.
The 2019-20 CoSIDA Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Team recognized the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performance in the athletic realm and in the classroom.
Manfra, who was the first member of Suffolk’s cross country/track & field program to earn the feat from CoSIDA a year ago, is the third-ever student-athlete to earn the recognition twice joining the likes of baseball’s Matt Batchelder (2004, 2005) and Jake Cintolo (2013, 2014).
Manfra Repeats as Charles law honoree
Emily Manfra sealed her spot among the best-of-the-best of Suffolk University Athletics as the senior cross country/track & field star was honored as the Charles Law Student-Athlete for the second straight year.
The recipient of this distinguished award is recognized in honor of the late Charles Law, whose work ethic and due diligence embodied what it means to be a student-athlete; excel both academically and athletically.
Manfra, who was the first junior and first runner in the history of the award, which has been handed out since 1967-68, to be acknowledged for her work on the course and in the classroom, added more history to her name as the first Suffolk student-athlete to be bestowed the honor twice in her career.
Emily had a tremendous senior year. Although it was cut short due to COVID-19, she put together a year for the ages. -- Will Feldman, head coach Track & Field / Cross Country