Week One Cross Country Performers of the Week PDF
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Maine junior Riley Masters (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) and UMBC senior Sara Parkinson (Lancashire, England/Loughborough University) take home the first men’s and women’s cross country Performer of the Week awards of the 2010 season for the week ending September 12.
Masters won the individual title at the Boston College Invitational September 11. Masters finished the course at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass., site of this year’s America East championship race, with a time of 24:51, 14 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. His finish helped propel Maine to a third-place finish as a team. The race marked Masters’ return to cross country after missing all of last season.
Parkinson won the Mount St. Mary’s Dual 5K’s, posting a time of 17:47.47. The time was more than 18 seconds faster than the next fastest competitor and 37 seconds ahead of last year’s time at the meet. Parkinson finished sixth at the 2009 America East championship meet.
Three America East men’s cross country teams earned spots in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Northeast regional poll this week. Binghamton leads the group, ranked seventh, followed by Albany (13th) and Maine (14th). On the women’s side, Stony Brook paces the pack, grabbing seven votes in the national poll as well as the No. 3 spot in the Northeast region. New Hampshire (11th), Maine (14th) and Vermont (15th) also graced the regional rankings.
The University at Albany got off to a strong start this fall, with both the men’s and women’s teams winning the Monmouth XC Kick-Off. The Great Danes also ran in the Boston College Invitational September 11, with the men grabbing a second-place finish out of nine schools, while the women finished third out of ten as a team. The men grabbed the top two spots at Monmouth with sophomores Alex Leuchanka (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and Paul Lagno (Salt Point, N.Y./Millbrook) finish first (18:28.1) and second (18:38.6), respectively on the 6k course. Lagno followed that performance with a third-place finish with a time of 25:08.37 on the 8,000-meter course at Boston College Saturday. The men earned the top team finish of the five America East teams in the race. The women also had an impressive showing at Monmouth, placing four runners in the top six and five in the top eight. Freshman Kathryn Fanning (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and sophomore Emily Finnegan (Niskayuna, N.Y./Colonie Central) finished the 4,000-meter course second (14:20.0) and third (14:40.8), respectively, in their opening race. Finnegan then led Albany at Boston College, finishing the women’s race 12th overall in a time of 18:20.60 for the 5,000-meter course. The Great Danes return to action on Saturday, Sept. 18 to compete at the Br. Doyle Meet of Champions, which will be hosted by Iona College and held at Van Cortlandt Park.
Binghamton University opened its 2010 campaign hosting a men’s and women’s dual meet against Siena. Both the men’s and women’s squads topped the Saints, with the men winning, 16-43, and the women winning, 15-49. Sophomore Vasili Papastrat (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) won the men’s race (26:53.7), pacing a Binghamton team whose runners grabbed the top four spots and five of the top six. Sophomore Brendan Connell St. James, N.Y./Smithtown) was second (26:51), followed by junior Tyler Stachecki (Fairport, N.Y./Penfield) in third (26:58), Jason Santos (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown) in fourth (27:07) and graduate student Chris Raulli (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) in sixth (28:00). In the women’s race, sophomore Lindsay Raulli (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) placed first (18:53.7), followed by sophomore Rachel Miura(Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) (19:17), seniors Sarah Veith (Derby, N.Y./Lake Shore) (19:27) and Ashley Horton (Candor, N.Y./Candor) (20:00) and freshman Kelly Abbatte (Northport, N.Y./Northport) (20:14), who finished second through fifth, respectively. The Bearcats do not compete again until Friday, October 1, at the Lehigh Paul Short Run.
The Boston University men’s and women’s cross country teams each competed in the Boston College Invitational Saturday. The men’s team secured a fourth-place finish while the women finished sixth. Two Terriers secured top-15 finishes in the men’s race, including senior Ken Haltom (Memphis, Tenn./Memphis University School) and junior Joe Greenspun (Orange, Conn.). Haltom finished 14th (25:47) and Greenspun placed 15th (25:57). Boston U.’s next finisher was senior James Weider (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport), who recorded a 22nd-place finish with a time of 26:07. In the women’s race Katie Matthews (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) was Boston U.’s top runner as she finished the 5K course in 10th place with a time of 18:08. Senior Kathleen Davies (Huntington Valley, Pa./St. Basil Academy) secured a 14th-place finish with a time of 18:26, while freshman Rosa Moriello (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) placed 29th (18:42) in her Terrier debut. The Terriers return to action on Sept. 19 at the America East Pre-Championship at Franklin Park.
The University of Hartford men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their 2010 campaigns at the Trinity College Bantam Cross Country Invitational held at Manchester’s Whickham Park on Saturday. The men’s team was the runner-up of the Invitational, falling 33 points short of first-place Stonehill. The women took home third-place in the six team field. Junior Andrew Chalmers (Ashland, N.H./Plymouth Regional) was the first Hawk and sixth overall runner to cross the line on the men’s side. Chalmers covered the 5,000-meter course in 16:17. Not far behind Chalmers was senior Jonas Hampton (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) who clocked in at 16:37 for a ninth place finish in the Invitational. A rookie led the way for the Hartford women as Megan Barry (South Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis Yarmouth Regional) posted the 12th-best time on the course and was the Hawks’ top finisher in the season’s opening meet. She paced the Hawks with a 17:03 finish on the 4,000-meter course. Filling the second and third spots on the Hawks’ scorecard were Marisa Poleto (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) and Jennifer Flores (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meado), a pair of Hartford newcomers, who posted identical times of 17:37, finishing 20th and 21st overall. Hartford returns to the course on Saturday, September 18 when it hosts the second annual Hartford Hawks Riverfront Cross Country Festival.
Maine posted strong individual showings on both the men’s and women’s sides at the Boston College Invitational on September 11. As teams the men placed third while the women finished in fifth place. Individually, Masters won the men’s meet in a time of 24:51. Freshman Jason Kaake (Bath, Maine/Morse) was the next Black Bear to cross the line, posting a time of 25:46, good for 11th overall. For the women, junior Corey Conner (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional) grabbed second place, just three seconds behind the first-place finisher, with a time of 17:17. Senior Jordan Daniel (Corinna, Maine/Mt. Blue) came in ninth overall, posting a time of 18:07. Maine returns to competition September 18 for a quad meet at Massachusetts.
The men’s and women’s UMBC cross country teams opened the 2010 season at the Mount St. Mary’s Dual 5Ks in Emmitsburg, Md, September 3. The men had a second-place showing with a dual-meet record of 4-1, while the women finished fifth with a record of 2-4. Junior transfer Sam Boimov (Montgomery Village, Md./Gaithersburg/Salisbury) made his cross country debut for the Retrievers a great one, finishing second in 15:41.09 in his race. For the women, Parkinson won the meet in a time of 17:47.47, over 18 seconds faster than second place and 37 seconds quicker than last year’s time. Next up for the Retriever men is the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. on Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. The women run in the Salty Dog Invitational, also in Annapolis.
The New Hampshire cross country teams were among the five America East schools competing in Saturday’s Boston College Invitational. The men’s squad took home sixth place, with junior Alex Beaulieu (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) pacing Wildcat runners finishing 20th in a time of 26:00. The women’s team finished second overall and was the top America East team at the meet. Senior Erica Jesseman (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) led her squad on the 5,000-meter course with a time of 17:47, good for sixth place overall. Senior Sydney Fitzpatrick (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) also finished in the top 10, placing eighth (17:57). New Hampshire next runs at the Maine Dual Meet, September 24.
Stony Brook’s men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Boston College Invitational, with the men finishing in seventh place while the women took home a fourth-place finish. For the men, junior Drew Dillingham (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) was the top finisher for the men’s team, placing 10th in 25:41. Junior Mark Appledorf (Hauppauge, N.Y.Hauppauge) was the next best for SBU, finishing in 23rd place (26:10). In the women’s race, freshman Annie Keown (Auckland, New Zealand/Auckland Girls Grammar) was the top finisher for the Seawolves, placing fourth (17:39). Also finishing among the top 15 were freshmen Olivia Burne (Palmerston North, New Zealand/Palmerston North) (11th, 18:16) and junior Patricia Barry (Tipperary, Ireland/University of Limerick) (13th, 18:25). Both the men and the women are off until October 1, when the women will race in the Notre Dame Invitational while the men compete in the Paul Short Invitational.
The University of Vermont cross country team kicked off the 2010 season hosting Lipscomb, Columbia, and Saint Michael’s at the Catamount Family Center in Williston, Vt. on Sunday. The men’s team edged out Lipscomb University by 10 seconds to place second in the team standings. Junior John Little (New Ipswich, N.H./Mascenic Regional) placed first for the Catamounts, finishing 11th overall with a time of 26:09.52. Junior Connor Jennings (Concord, N.H./Concord), sophomore Ethan McBrien (Dublin, N.H./Contoocook Valley Regional), sophomore Andy Stillman (Norfolk, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) and freshman Aaron Szotka (Windsor, Conn./Windsor) all finished in the top-20 for Vermont. The Vermont women’s team finished third, just under a minute behind Lipscomb University. Making her collegiate debut, sophomore Kirsten Weberg (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) finished ninth, leading the way for the Catamounts with a time of 18:59.74. Teammate junior Morgan Powers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) rounded out the top 10 with a time of 19:01.11. The Catamounts next run September 18 at Massachusetts.