Boston University junior Jochen Diekfoss took the men’s individual title in championship record time, while Stony Brook senior Jenny Payne won the women’s crown at the 2002 America East Cross Country Championship, held Saturday afternoon at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. Boston University took home the women's team title while New Hampshire came away with the men’s team championship.
Women's Results
Men's Results
For the Boston University women, it marked their seventh straight America East title and 12th in 13 years. The New Hampshire men won for the second consecutive year and the fourth in the last five years. The Boston University women had their top five runners finish within 44 seconds of each other and took home fourth, fifth, and six places en route to 36 points. Stony Brook University took places one and three and finished second with 43 points, the closest any school had been to Boston University since the 1997 championship, followed by University of New Hampshire with 78 points. University of Vermont finished fourth with 113, followed by University at Albany (118), University of Maine (161), Binghamton University (173), Northeastern University (191) and University of Hartford (292). Payne, who finished in ninth place at the 2001 championship, covered the 5,000-meter course in 17:32, 12 seconds in front of runner-up Michele Palmer (17:44) of Vermont. Payne’s finish places her sixth in America East’s Top 20 Championship Times. For Boston University, senior Sherida Bird was fourth in 17:51, sophomore Dina Mijuskovic (fifth, 17:51), freshman Jessica Iannacci (sixth, 17:52), graduate student Charlotte Coffey (10th, 18:28), and senior Bolpar Vinh (11th, 18:35) rounded out the scoring for the Terriers. Over the 8,000-meter men's course, Dieckfoss ran 23:45, the fastest time in the 15-year history of the men’s championship, breaking the championship record (24:14.2) that Boston University's Karl Rasmussen set at the 1994 championship. New Hampshire took home the team title, taking places two through five en route to 25 points. Maine and Boston University tied for second with 67 points. Albany (98), Vermont (146), Binghamton (170), Stony Brook (179), Northeastern (219) and Hartford (272) rounded out the team scoring. New Hampshire was paced by senior Dan Hocking (second, 23:51), who also finished under Rasmussen's championship record time, and sophomore Steve Meinelt (third, 24:34). Freshman Tony Truax (fourth, 24:48) sophomore Peter Mallet (fifth, 24:51), and senior Matt Schadow (11th, 25:17) closed the Wildcats scoring. America East Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year honors went to Boston University, led by Head Coach Bruce Lehane. The America East Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year nod went to New Hampshire, guided by Head Coach Jim Boulanger. The America East Cross Country Championships were the first of 21 championships for the conference this year.