New Hampshire’s Anthony Truax (Dover, N.H./Dover) and Boston University’s Andrea Walkonen (Jaffrey, NH)) have been named the America East Men’s and Women’s Cross Country performers of the week, respectively. The awards were announced Tuesday (October 12).
Truax, a junior at UNH, was the top Wildcat finisher at the New England Championships with a sixth-place finish on the 4.95-mile course in a meet that featured 48 teams and a total of 315 competitors. He finished the race in 24 minutes, 53 seconds. UNH placed fourth at the meet behind Providence, Boston College and Maine.
Walkonen, a freshman at Boston U., led the Terriers to the 2004 New England Cross Country Championship with a second-place finish at the meet. She finished the 5,000-meter course in 17:23 and led the Terriers to the team title. She was one of five Terriers to place in the Top 20.
Cross country wrap up:
Boston University Women Win New England Championships, Top Hartford, Maine Northeastern and Vermont.
The Terrier women's cross country team raced to a first-place finish at the 2004 New England Championship at Franklin Park, on Friday Oct. 8. Freshman Andrea Walkonen (Jaffrey, NH) finished as the Terrier's top runner, and second overall, leading the squad to the title in the 45-team field. The Terriers totaled a meet-low 50 points with three B.U. runners placing in the top 10. Sophomore Marissa Ryan (Farmington, Conn.) and senior Victoria Bottecelli (Garden Grove, Calif.) followed Walkonen, finishing in ninth and 10th, respectively.
Northeastern finished in 14th place with a total of 433 points. Next was Vermont finishing 20th with 544 team points, Maine in 23rd place with 631 points, then followed Hartford who finished 43rd with 1254 points.
?Around the Conference in Women’s Cross Country:
The UMBC women’s cross country team took home first place at the Maryland State Cross country Championships held at Hagerstown Community College. The Retrievers team recorded a team score of 23 as it topped six other programs. Leading the way for the Retrievers was Senior Cara Wettlaufer (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright), who placed first with a time of 19:59, topping the entire field that was 46-athletes deep. Teammate Stefanie Thomas (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) took home second-place with a time of 20:02. U’Tonna Sherrod (Millersville, Md./Archbishop Spalding) finished sixth in 21:02 while Kathleen Galan (Sicklerville, N.J./Highland Regional), who returned for the first time from an injury, placed ninth in 21:05. Rounding out the top 10 was Morgan Little (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) who finished the 3.5-mile meet in 21:06.
?Men’s Cross Country Action:
The University of Maine men's cross country team finished third out of 48 teams at the 2004 New England Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park on Friday, October 8. Michael Lansing (Lovell, Maine/Fryburg Academy) was the top Maine finisher for the men as he completed the 4.95-mile course in 25:00 to place 10th. Placing right behind Maine was New Hampshire, taking fourth place with 186 team points. UNH had the top America East finisher in Anthony Truax (Dover, N.H./Dover) who placed sixth with a time of 24:53.
Also competing for the America East were Boston University, Vermont, Hartford and Northeastern, with the teams placing 26th, 31st, 42nd, and 43rd, respectively.
In other men’s action, the UMBC men’s cross country team helped complete the sweep of the Maryland State Cross Country Championships, taking home first-place with 17 points. Izudin Mehmedovic (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) took first place in the 8K run as all five Retrievers scores placed in the top-10 overall. Shawn Shockry (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) captured second in 25:16 and J.J. Wetzel (Crofton, Md./Archbishop Spalding) took fourth in 25:42 to place three Retrievers’ in the top-five. Freshman Blake Davis (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) in 26:00 for seventh followed two seconds later by teammate Aaron Smith (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) in eighth place at 26:02.