Southern Vermont cross country freshman Nick Murray (Hummelstown, Pa. / Lower Dauphin High School) won the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Rookie of the Year award giving him an automatic spot on the NECC All-Conference Team this past fall.

Southern Vermont Cross Country Head Coach Joe Catania was pleased with the awards Nick received this past season, "Nick ran strong for the team all year and deserves his all conference accolade. He saved his best for last which is the way it is supposed to work. Nick winning the "rookie of the year" award should give him the incentive and momentum to progress at being a better runner and competitor."

Murray's time of 29:46.78 helped him finish the day sixth in the NECC Championships. Southern Vermont's score of 545 placed it 18th out of the 21 schools that participated.

"College cross country is a whole different experience than high school," said Murray, who is majoring in Business Management at SVC. "It's a little more intense and more is expected of you. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I am really enjoying my first season at SVC."

Murray, a longtime cross country runner, has extensive experience and is looking to hone in on his craft as a Mountaineer. The transition to the small town of Bennington from Hummelstown, Pa., where he was captain of the Lower Dauphin High School cross country team, has been a good one for Murray.

Murray is excited about the "heightened competition" and he sees it as a "good motivation" to improve his performance each meet.

As far as the jump from the 5K he ran in high school compared to the 8K ran at most college meets, "I like a longer distance because there seems to be more strategy and thinking involved then a sheer sprint race," Murray said.

SVC looks forward to seeing how many records Murray can break in the future! Check out the list below to see where he stands today...

For more information on the Southern Vermont College Men's and Women's Cross Country teams, contact Coach Catania at jcatania@svc.edu or call 802-447-4639.   

 

ALL-TIME TOP TEN RUNNERS Men's 8K
1. Dan Dix	25:23	GNAC Championships	2000
2. Scott McEnaney	27:50	GNAC Championships	2000
3. Ron Harding	28:14	GNAC Championships	1999
4. Kyle Hoseit	28:26	Elms Invitational	2006
5. John Brady	28:27	GNAC Championships	2003
6. Fontana Fluke	29:40	GNAC Championships	2003
7. Nick Murray *	29:43	NECC Championships	2008
8. Tim Nicolis	30:12	ECAC Championships	1997
9. Lance Spratling *	30:23	NECC Championships	2008
10. Jason Wimbiscus	30:27	GNAC Championships	2000

  * Denotes Current Student-Athletes