Standish, ME – The cross country squad got one final chance to test their legs ahead of the YSCC Championships when they headed to the Runnin' Monks XC Challenge hosted by Saint Joseph's College of Maine in Standish.

The Mustangs had several runners resting up with only seven days to go before the final meet of the season, but for others it was a chance to gauge their progress over the fall campaign.

Competitors from St. Joseph's, University of Southern Maine, Maine Maritime Academy, Emerson, Emmanuel, and UMaine-Presque Isle dotted the course with 99 total runners taking part between the men's and women's events.

Elise Schultz came home 21^st in the field of 36 in the women's 6k race. The second-year posted a 32:23.63 and was the highest finishing Central Maine athlete overall on the day.

Owen Heseltine was one place back in the men's 8k field, coming home 22^nd in the crowded group of 53 runners. The Mt. Blue High School product finished with a time of 32:34.99.

He was followed by Mark Schepici (40:29.83) and Christopher Roy (51:01.72) who both fought through to the end on warm fall morning. It was an improvement of more than six minutes for Schepici compared to his time on the same course last year.

"With the YSCC Championships a week away and several athletes on a rest, our goal was to help our last few runners fine tune their pacing," said head coach Brian McDonald. The man at the helm of the program had high praise for how his runners have done over the short fall season.

The team heads to Hampshire College in Amherst, MA next Saturday, October 26^th for the YSCC championship meet. It gets underway starting at 10:00 am.