CAMBRIDGE, Mass. ? For the second time in as many seasons, Boston University is the unanimous preseason favorite to win the 2007 America East Women’s Cross Country Championship, according to a vote of the conference’s head coaches. The Terriers received all eight possible first-place votes (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team) and 64 points overall. Stony Brook University garnered 54 points to edge out New Hampshire’s 53 points for the second slot. Click here for complete poll.
The Wildcats came in third-place and received the final first-place vote. University of Vermont (40 points), Binghamton University (35) and University of Maine (31) fill the fourth-sixth spots in the poll. University at Albany (19), UMBC (18) and Hartford (10) round out the nine-school poll.
All nine schools will compete at the 2007 America East Women’s Cross Country Championship hosted by Stony Brook on October 27.
The Terriers are the two-time defending champions, and have dominated the America East Women’s Cross Country Championship by winning 15 crowns in the 18-year history of the event including ten of the last 11. Boston U. will throw five top-25 finishers back out into this year’s meet, including last year’s individual runner-up, Marisa Ryan.
On its home course, Stony Brook hopes to improve on last year’s third-place championship finish. The Seawolves’ top runner, junior Dana Hastie, placed third a year ago and returns in 2007 to help Stony Brook.
New Hampshire earned runner-up at the 2006 league championship with the help of individual champion Cathy Parker. Parker clocked in under 17:00, becoming the first Wildcat in school history to earn the individual crown. Parker and three other top-30 finishers are on this year’s roster.
The poll predicts a repeat of last year’s fourth-place finish for Vermont. This year’s squad is one of the youngest in the conference with Heather Mitchell racing as the only senior. Eight freshmen join Mitchell and the rest of the Catamounts in hoping to improve on last year’s feat of their highest finish in four years.
Binghamton is also projected to run a similar race this year as it did in last year’s fifth-place effort. Junior Katie Radzik, the two-time Binghamton Athlete othe Year, crossed the finish line fourth in the 2006 league championship. The Bearcats lost four letterwinners during the offseason, but eight return again in 2007.
The Black Bears’ rookie runner, Jessica Belliveau, led Maine to a sixth-place finish with the meet’s 14th-best time. Belliveau returns with a year of collegiate experience under her belt to lead the Black Bears once again. Another freshman, Elonnai Hickok, finished with Maine’s second-fastest time.
Albany will be led by senior Danielle Trimpop and transfer Laura Cummings, who joins the Great Danes from the University of North Carolina.
Sophomore Suzanne Gabriel enters 2007 as UMBC’s top returning runner. The Retrievers brought in freshman Cortney Crouse during the offseason.
Hartford is another of the younger teams in the conference, featuring sophomore Stefanie Lombardi and six incoming freshmen.