HENNIKER, N.H. - New England College freshman Althea LeBlanc (Derry, N.H.) of the NEC cross country team was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Week for the opening weekend ending on August 31st.  

LeBlanc had a collegiate debut worth remembering, taking first place in the women's two-mile Mayflower Kickoff race on Friday afternoon. The freshman was the first to cross the Covered Bridge finish line in 13:12, defeating Rebecca Hall of Lesley by 15 seconds. She averaged a mile pace of 6:36.4. 

The freshman's first-place finish helped lead the Pilgrims to a first-place team finish with 20 total points – 15 points ahead of Lesley.  

Althea and the rest of the NEC cross country team will now have about three weeks to prepare for the Codfish Bowl race, ran by the USATF and held at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts. 

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