Top Finishes Against Ranked Opponents Earn Leuchanka and Van Dalen Cross Country Weekly Honors

Top Finishes Against Ranked Opponents Earn Leuchanka and Van Dalen Cross Country Weekly Honors

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Week #6 Cross Country Release

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - After leading their teams against top nationally and regionally-ranked schools this past weekend, University at Albany freshman Alex Leuchanka (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and Stony Brook junior Lucy van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand/Wanganui Collegiate) garner the male and female cross country Performer of the Week awards, respectively, for the week ending October 18.

At the 43rd UAlbany Invitational, Leuchanka led the Great Danes to a third-place team finish out of 24 teams including Marist, ranked 12th in the Northeast. Running an 8K course for only the third time, Leuchanka improved by 27 seconds on his mark at the George Mason Invitational two weeks ago. Leuchanka placed fifth out of 189 runners, finishing the course in 24:59.9, a career-best time.

Van Dalen earns her first weekly accolade of the 2009 season after leading Stony Brook to a sixth-place finish out of 18 teams at the Penn State Invitational, which included nationally ranked #3 West Virginia, #16 Penn State and #25 Providence. Completing the 6K course in 21:01, van Dalen placed 10th out of 202 runners on Friday. This season, van Dalen also earned a second-place finish at the Codfish Bowl where she missed first place by only two seconds.

Two men's squads captured regional rankings this week with Binghamton coming in 10th and New Hampshire placing 14th. In the women's regional rankings, Stony Brook fell to sixth while New Hampshire entered the rankings coming in 12th. Vermont and Maine also earned rankings placing 14th and 15th, respectively.

Albany - The Albany men's and women's squads captured third and sixth-place team finishes, respectively, at their home invitational on Saturday. Alex Leuchanka led the Great Danes to the top finish by an America East men's squad at the meet. Leuchanka placed fifth out of 189 runners and finished the 8, 000-meter course in 24:59.9, a career-best time and a 27-second improvement from his time at the George Mason Invitational earlier this season. Redshirt freshman Paul Lagno (Salt Point, N.Y./Millbrook) placed second for the men capturing 10th in a time of 25:24. Leading the women all season, sophomore Ada Lauterbach (East Berne, N.Y./Berne-Knox-Westerlo) finished 10th out of 193 competitors. Lauterbach dropped her 5K course time by over a minute to finish the meet in 18:05.6. Freshman Miranda McConnell (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) finished second for Albany for the third straight meet, placing 16th overall. The Great Danes next compete at the America East Championship on October 31.

Albany's story

Binghamton - At the 43rd UAlbany Invitational, the Bearcat men's and women's squads both captured top-10 finishes. The men finished sixth out of 24 teams led by senior Chris Raulli (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse), who ran to a 26th-place finish in 25:44. Freshman Brendan Connell (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown) was the second runner to finish for Binghamton in 33rd place. Junior Kim Law (Newark, N.Y./Newark) led the women to a ninth-place team finish, completing the 5K course in 18:27. Freshman Rachel Miura (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) finished next for the women capturing 33rd place in a time o f 18:41. Bearcat runners were also supposed to compete at the Penn State Invitational on Friday, but it was cancelled due to rain. Binghamton next competes at the America East Championship hosted by Vermont.

Binghamton's story

Boston U. - The Terrier squads next compete at the Central Connecticut State mini meet on Saturday, October 24 in their last race before the conference meet.

Hartford - The Hawks had the weekend off, but return to action on Saturday at the Central Connecticut State mini meet.

Maine - The Black Bears next race at the America East Championship on October 31 after two weeks of rest.

UMBC - The Retrievers men's and women's teams captured 12th and fifth-place, respectively, at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday. Senior Suzanne Gabriel (Falls Church, Va./McLean), who has been a top runner for UMBC all season, captured the women's individual title and led the Retrievers with a time of 23:15.70. Senior Sara Parkinson (Lancashire, England/Loughborough University) finished second for the women in 12th place overall.  Two seniors also led the men, with Andrew Madison (Edgewater, Md./South River) placing first for the men, finishing the 8K course in 26:18.10 to take 61st place, while Michael Christmas (Invercargill, New Zealand/James Hargest College) crossed the finish line second for the Retrievers to take 80th overall. UMBC returns to action at the America East Championship.

UMBC's men's story

UMBC's women's story

New Hampshire - Both Wildcat squads next race at the conference meet on Saturday, October 31.

Stony Brook - The Seawolves men captured sixth place out of 13 teams at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday. Junior Tim Hodge (Tawa, New Zealand/Victoria University) led Stony Brook, crossing the finish line in 10th place with a time of 25:18.70. Two other men placed in the top-20 including seniors Alex Felce (Stroud England/Archway Comprehensive) and Daire Bermingham (Portmarnock, Ireland/Sutton Park), who claimed 14th and 17th, respectively. The Seawolves' women team competed at the Penn State Invitational, which was moved to Lock Haven University due to bad weather. Junior Lucy van Dalen led the women to a sixth-place team finish out of 18 teams, which included three top-25 nationally-ranked squads and two regionally-ranked teams. She claimed 10th overall in a time of 21:01. Stony Brook claimed two other top-25 finishes with junior Holly van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand/Wanganui Collegiate) and senior Laura Huet (Carrickmines, Ireland/Loreto College Foxrock) claiming 21st and 22nd place, respectively. The Seawolves next compete at Van Cortlandt Park on Wednesday against Manhattan and Iona.

Stony Brook's men's story

Stony Brook's women's story

Vermont - The Catamount squads claimed two first-place team finishes and two individual titles at the Saint Michael's Invitational on Friday. Senior Aly Millett (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) led Vermont, capturing the women's race in a time of 18:10. The women claimed nine of the top 10 spots with sophomore Morgan Powers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) taking second, only a second behind Millett. Freshman Julie McGilpin (Westfield, Mass./Westfield), freshman Kaleigh Wood (Collinsville, Va. /Franklin County) and sophomore Marisa Guerette (West Chester, Pa. /Unionville) finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Junior Ben Talbot (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) captured first overall in the men's meet with a time of 26:32 followed by freshmen Andy Stillman (Norfolk, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) and Ethan McBrien (Dublin, N.H./Contoocook Valley Regional), who claimed second and third, respectively. Vermont will take the weekend off before hosting the America East Championship.

Vermont's story