MONTGOMERY, N.Y. – For the first time in program history, a Fairfield Stag is the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Cross Country Champion. Hannah Snayd beat the field by more than nine seconds in Saturday's 6K at Twin Ponds on the Farm, breaking the tape in a personal-best time of 20:36.3 to win the 2024 MAAC Championship.
 
Snayd's MAAC Championship tops the pair of third place finishes at the conference meet from Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer Fran Arthurs '95 in 1993 and 1994. For her performance, the first-year standout was tabbed as the MAAC Most Outstanding Runner and Rookie of the Year.
 
Mia Strazzella also helped pace the Stags, finishing 19th with a mark of 21:45.5. Catherine Gobo (22:38.1), Devan Gambello (23:00.6) and Sophie Cheesman (23:06.4) rounded out the quintet of scorers for Fairfield. The Stags placed ninth of 13 squads, topping Niagara, Manhattan, Mount St. Mary's and Saint Peter's.  Fairfield tied eighth-place Merrimack in points at 209, but the tiebreaker went to the Warriors.
 
Also hitting the course on Saturday were Ada Gebauer (23:48.3), Molly Ryle (24:04.2), Anna Heras (24:14.2) and Mergan Furlong (25:33.2.).
 
Quinnipiac won the team MAAC Championship with all five scoring runners among the top 11 finishers. The Bobcats were paced by overall second place finisher Alexandra Zaffina (20:45.6).
 
Fairfield Women's Cross Country is back on the course on Friday, Nov. 15 for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Contoocook, N.H.