University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Trio Earn All-Region Honors
11/17/2021 2:00:00โฏPM | Women's Cross Country
OFFICIAL USTFCCCA ALL-REGION RELEASE
STORRS, Conn. โ The UConn women's cross-country team had a trio of runners named All-Region honors after last weekend's NCAA Northeast Regional race.ย UConn seniors Mia Nahom (New Fairfield, CT) and Melissa Zammitti (Charlotte, NC) and freshman Chloe Thomas (Dundas, Ontario) all earned spots on the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Northeast team.
The three helped lead the Huskies to a fourth-place finish in a 36-team field at last weekend's NCAA Northeast Regional at Franklin Park in Boston.ย Zammitti led the way with a 13th place finish and was followed Thomas and Nahom in 14th and 15th place, respectively.
After earning All-BIG EAST honors in her first championship race with the Huskies, Zammitti came up with her best performance of the season in the 6K NCAA race.ย She finished with a season-best time of 21:04.9, earning her highest finish at a 6K race this fall.
"This season has been an adjustment, but a very good one," stated Zammitti.ย "The team has been great and supportive, and we really worked well together.ย We all had a goal to qualify for nationals this year so that meet had a lot of pressure.ย We came up short, but that motivation has us in a good place as we head towards indoor season. I think because how I finished individual and how we finished as a team, the seasons to come I am going to set our sights higher."
Thomas rounded out an impressive freshman campaign with a career-best time at the NCAA regional race.ย Thomas also earned All-BIG EAST honors for the Huskies and for the third-straight race, posted a new personal best time in a 6K race when she crossed the line in Boston at 21:05.6.
"This was the culmination of a lot of hard work this year," commented Thomas.ย "Every single race this season I learned a lot about myself and my team.ย Being able to take what I learned each meet and apply it all at the Northeast Regional meet allowed me to have a really good finish at that race."
"I didn't expect to find myself in this position especially on such a strong team with so many strong runners," stated the freshman.ย "My goal coming in was really to just be here, score some points for the team and be a great teammate.ย I am really thankful I got to contribute to this team as much as I did."
This is the second time that Nahom has earned All-Northeast Region honors.ย In 2019, she ran to a 4th place finish, earning herself a spot in the NCAA Championship race that season.ย During her final cross-country season for the Huskies, she earned all-conference accolades for the fifth time.ย This season, she became an All-BIG EAST runner for the second-straight year after a fourth-place finish at this year's race.ย
"I feel like this was validation of the hard work we all put in this year," said Nahom.ย "You can always control the race or the conditions, but you can control showing up every day and working hard.ย It's nice to come away and even though we were disappointed, it was still a good performance."
After a shortened spring season last year due to the pandemic, Nahom was grateful for that opportunity but also as a motivation this fall.ย "I thought the northeast got the short end of it last spring with no teams selected for nationals.ย It was frustrating, especially for us who were ranked No. 1 in our region.ย I think a lot of teams, including us, had a chip on our shoulders and it really motivated us this fall.ย But having that opportunity to run last season, we were all really grateful.ย And as much as it motivated us this season, having this result at the regional race this year will motivate this team going forward"
A total of 225 women from 103 different programs earned All-Region distinction by virtue of a top-25 finish at one of the nine regional sites this past weekend. Only athletes from USTFCCCA member institutions are eligible for awards.
As a team, the Huskies had a great fall campaign, earning USTFCCCA national and regional rankings during the season and getting a pair of team wins during the year.ย The Huskies took fourth at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown in a national field and were within striking distance of a BIG EAST championship, finishing third but within five points of the top spot.
"I think this fall was a great building block for our team.ย We think of ourselves as a national caliber team, and we wanted to be there.ย Falling just short and knowing that, we know we belong.ย It's exciting and motivates us going forward.ย I am really excited where we can take this as a team.
As the trio turns the corner to the indoor and outdoor track season, all three felt like the best is still to come for the Huskies as a team.ย "I am really looking forward to the track season," commented Zammitti.ย "Even though we are taking a bit of break right now, we are already starting to think about our goals for this coming season."
The indoor track & field season will have a Blue & White meet on campus in December and then officially get underway in January at Harvard's Beantown Challenge.
