Women's Cross Country | Oct 27 | Cross Country Finishes 6th at NEC Championship Players Mentioned Bio Zaahira Deboise XC Sr. Bio Stephanie Reyes XC So. Bio Sarah Northup XC Gr. Bio Eugenie Hue XC Sr. Bio Cayla Coleman XC Sr. Bio Esther Jean-Louis XC R-Sr. Bio Tara Hernandez XC So. Bio Jasmine Douglas Grant XC 5' 3" Fr. SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The LIU Brooklyn women's cross country team ran during a Nor'easter storm to post the team's best finish in years, placing sixth at the 2018 NEC Cross Country Championship at Bryant in Smithfield, R.I. The Blackbirds scored 191 points to finish behind Central Connecticut, Saint Francis U., Sacred Heart, Mount St. Mary's and Wagner - in that order on Saturday. "Our entire team ran an amazing race, considering the conditions today," said Head Coach Yvonne Harrison. "I am extremely proud of this group of young ladies who preserved until the very end." With the weather slowing the entire field down, senior Eugenie Hue was the first Blackbird on the board, crossing in just under the twenty minute mark (19:56.6), which put her in 31st place overall. Fellow seniors, Sarah Northup (20:03.5) and Esther Jean-Louis (20:19.5) were right behind, placing in 33rd and 37th to lead the LIU scorers in the meet. Classmate Cayla Coleman came in 51st, and set a new personal best mark in 21:04.6. Coleman beat her top time from two weeks ago by 13 seconds and her time at the opening meet at Bryant by almost 19 seconds, despite the conditions on the course. Next up was senior Zaahira Deboise in 60th place in 21:44, almost matching her early season mark on the course and crushing her 2017 NEC Championship time of 22:33. After going below 22 minutes for the first time three weeks ago, sophomore Stephanie Reyes also set a new personal best on Championship Saturday. Reyes went 21:48.9 to place 64th and improve on her PB by almost eight seconds and her time from last year's NECs by over a minute. The Blackbirds' Tara Hernandez and freshman Jasmine Douglas Grant, both recent additions to the cross country team, rounded out the scorers, going 2:20.9 (70th place) and 23:38.5 (74th), respectively. I learned something about my team today that you can only learn in adverse conditions," said Harrison. "They persevered, endured and fought until they crossed the finish line.Their mental toughness was admirable. Today, we exceeded my expectations and accomplished yet another team goal." The Blackbirds will now go on to the NCAA Northeast Regionals in two weeks up in Buffalo, N.Y.