The start of the 2016 Massachusetts Maritime women’s cross country season is a little over a week away, and as first year Head Coach Elizabeth Sullivan continues preparations for her inaugural collegiate campaign, she has named junior Kaylene Murphy to serve as the Buccaneers’ team captain this fall.

A native of Randolph, Mass. and a graduate of Ursuline Academy, Murphy has been a top performer over her first two collegiate seasons for Massachusetts Maritime, including a 26^th place individual finish at last year’s Lt. Travis J. Fuller Invitational.  She added a 54^th place individual performance at Elms and helped the Buccaneers place sixth at the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships.

A two-sport standout at the Academy, Murphy is also the starting catcher on Massachusetts Maritime’s softball team and is an active member of the Buccaneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  Last April, Kaylene and her brother A.J. ’16 (a member of the school’s crew team) ran the Boston Marathon to raise monies and awareness for breast cancer research in honor of their late mother, Kathleen.

“Kaylene is focused and dedicated to the sport of cross country while balancing a multitude of activities on a daily basis, and she always has a positive ‘can-do’ attitude,” Sullivan, a former cross country standout at Massachusetts Maritime, said of her captain.  “It’s been a great pleasure to watch her grow not only as a runner, but also to see her mentorship skills grow and develop.  Her determination and selflessness will serve our entire team well this season and beyond.”

The Buccaneers begin the 2016 campaign on Saturday, September 10^th by heading to Biddeford, Maine for the University of New England Invitational at 10:45 a.m. EDT.