Boston U.'s Walkonen Runs Away with Second Weekly Accolade, Ashe Earns First

Boston U.'s Walkonen Runs Away with Second Weekly Accolade, Ashe Earns First

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Week #2 Cross Country Release (PDF)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - After leading their squads to a pair of victories on Sunday, Boston University junior Eric Ashe (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) and graduate student Andrea Walkonen (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) have earned the America East male and female cross country Performer of the Week honors, respectively, for the week ending Sept. 20. 

Ashe placed second this past Sunday at Boston U.'s home invitational at Franklin Park, the site of this year's NCAA Northeast Regional meet. He completed the 8K course in a time of 25:07, just 12 seconds behind winner Adam Vess (Marist). On Sept. 13, Ashe won the men's individual title at the season-opening America East Pre-Championship meet helping the Boston U. men finish third out of six competing teams. In his last five races, dating back to last season, Ashe has amassed two wins and two second-place finishes.

With one individual title under her belt already, Walkonen ran away with her second individual victory on Sunday finishing the 5K Franklin Park course in 17:40, 50 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Walkonen led the Terrier women to a team victory at the pre-championship meet and helped her squad defeat Marist and LaSalle this past Sunday. This is Walkonen's second-straight Performer of the Week award of the 2009 season.

Albany - The Great Danes will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 3 when UAlbany sends its top-seven male and top-seven female runners to the George Mason Invitational at Bull Run Park in Centreville, Va. 

Binghamton - After two weeks off, Binghamton will return to action on Friday, Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. at the Lehigh Paul Short Run.

Boston U. - The Terrier men's and women's teams each posted wins at the Boston University Invitational at Franklin Park on Sunday. The women, led by graduate student Andrea Walkonen, who claimed her second individual title of the season, fell to Brown and Northeastern, but defeated Marist and LaSalle in the head-to-head matchups. Walkonen finished first by a 50-second margin with a time of 17:40. Sophomore Katie Matthews (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) also claimed a top-five finish placing fourth. Junior Eric Ashe led the men for the second-straight meet helping them to defeat Northeastern and Brown. Ashe followed up his first-place finish at the America East Pre-Championship with a second-place finish on Sunday. Junior Craig MacPherson (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) finished second for the Terrier men, placing eighth overall.

Hartford - At their home meet, the Hartford Hawks Riverfront Cross Country Festival, on Saturday, the Hartford men placed first while the women finished second. Sophomore Andrew Chalmers (Ashland, N.H./Plymouth Regional) and junior Jonas Hampton (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) paced the men finishing first and second, respectively. Three other Hartford men finished in the top-10, including sophomore Kevin Brandon (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land), who placed sixth, senior Weston Melnik (Durham, Ct./Coginchaug), who placed eighth, and junior Josh Hummel, who placed ninth. Senior Ariana Bass (Penacook, N.H./Concord High) led the women for the second-straight meet this season. Bass placed fifth and was followed by senior Stefanie Lombardi (North Providence, R.I./North Providence), freshman Kayla Koonz and senior Melanie Wilson (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) who claimed seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.

Maine - At the UMass five-way meet, the Black Bears men's and women's squads finished fifth and third, respectively. Maine's sophomore talent again led the teams on Saturday. Corey Conner (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional) paced the women earning her second-consecutive second-place finish with a time of 17:36. Riley Masters (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) led the men for the second-straight meet finishing eighth overall. Senior Vanessa Letourneau (Fairfield, Maine/Lawrence) and junior Allison Conner (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional) finished second and third for the Maine women, respectively. Both earned spots in the top-20 with Letourneau claiming 13th and Conner placing 19th overall. Senior Corey Bean (Cornville, Maine/Skowhegan) finished second for the Black Bear men placing 12th.  

UMBC - The Retriever women posted a third-place finish while the men finished fifth at the UMES Cappy Anderson Invitational on Saturday. UMBC's seniors again led the squads at the invitational. Sara Parkinson (Lancashire, England/Loughborough University) and Suzanne Gabriel (Falls Church, Va./McLean) led the women for the third-straight race of the season. Parkinson finished 11th overall while Gabriel placed 16th. Andrew Madison (Edgewater, Md./South River) led the Retrievers in the men's race for the second-straight meet finishing 21st. Junior Chris Bowie (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) was the second runner to finish for the men claiming 38th place. After a week off, the Retrievers will return to action in the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. on Friday, Oct. 2.

New Hampshire - The New Hampshire men's and women's squads will return to action on Friday, Sept. 25 against Maine at 3 p.m. on Maine's cross country course.

Stony Brook - The Seawolves' men's squad finished ninth out of 20 teams at the Iona Meet of Champions on Saturday. Senior Alex Felce (Stroud, England/Archway Comprehensive) led the squad finishing 15th, improving on his 18th-place finish at the 2008 Meet of Champions. Senior Daire Bermingham (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead), who won the men's title at Stony Brook's home invitational on Sept. 5, placed 22nd. The women's squad returns to action at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 2 while the men's next race is the Metropolitan Championships on Oct. 9.

Vermont - The Catamounts men's and women's teams each finished second at the UMass Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 19. In the women's race, Vermont went three-four-five with senior Aly Millett (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) placing third improving on her eighth-place finish in her first race of the season. Freshman Debbie Isen (Bethesda, Md.) and sophomore Morgan Powers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) took fourth and fifth place, respectively. Senior Doug Maisey (Gwynedd Valley, Pa./Wissahickon) led the men's squad finishing second, only six seconds out of first for the second-straight meet. Three other Catamounts runners finished in the top-15 of the men's race - sophomore Andrew Donaghy (Wallingford, Pa.), sophomore John Little (New Ipwsich, N.H./Mascenic Regional) and senior Eric Hill (East Aurora, N.Y.) took 11th, 13th and 14th, respectively.