CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Navy’s Lucas Stalnaker and Lehigh’s Maura Henderson repeat as the M-F Athlete Runners of the Week after leading Patriot League finishers in the Paul Short Run Gold Race at Lehigh on Saturday morning. Stalnaker earns male runner of the week for the third time, with Henderson claiming her second honor.
The Mountain Hawks’ swept the M-F Athlete Rookie Runner of the Week honors, as Jeffrey Kirshenbaum earns his first weekly award, while Hannah Bonaguidi earns her third and her second rookie of the week, as both posted the fastest times among freshmen competing in the Paul Short Run.
PATRIOT LEAGUE CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK
EIGHT PATRIOT LEAGUE PROGRAMS COMPETE AT PAUL SHORT RUN
MEN’S GOLD RACE: Navy was the top League finisher in the Gold race, coming in sixth of 38 programs, behind No. 16 Iona, No. 8 Georgetown and No. 26 Penn. Stalnaker led the way in 22nd-place with senior Ryan McCoy (24:15) eight seconds behind in 31st. Army West Point finished 11th overall with senior Matthew Bearden (24:34) in 65th and senior Jacob Fong (24:34) in 66th. Lehigh finished 22nd overall, with Kirshenbaum crossing the finish line first for the Mountain Hawks in 116th-place.
WOMEN’S GOLD RACE: Lehigh was the League’s top-finisher on the women’s side coming in 20th-place of 45 teams, as Henderson and Bonaguidi led the way for the Mountain Hawks. Holy Cross was close behind in 22nd-place, with juniors Anne Sullivan (21:26) and Hannah Jeter (21:35) and senior Rachel Sowinski (21:46) leading the way. Army West Point finished 35th overall with freshman Beth Nunnery finishing in 85th-place in a time of 21:17. Loyola Maryland finished 45th, as freshman Kayleigh Caggiano turned in a time of 22:18, good for 210th-place overall.
MEN’S BROWN RACE: Bucknell was the top Patriot League finisher in the Brown Race, finishing 25th of 45 teams, as senior Louis Tobias (25:36) and sophomore Chad Sussman (25:57) were the Bison’s top two finishers. Colgate was 31st overall, as junior Watson Hanson (25:45) and sophomore Jonathan Abbott (25:57) led the way. Holy Cross was two spots behind in 33rd, as senior G. Matthew Greco finished in 26:11 and senior Henry Dodge finished in 26:19. The Greyhound men finished 42nd, as senior Alexander Saffadi led the way in 26:03, while Lafayette finished 45th, with sophomore David Sadvary was their top finisher in 26:58.
WOMEN’S BROWN RACE: Bucknell finished third of 42 teams, with four runners in the top 50, led by sophomore Colleen Buckley (21:35), who finished 18th overall, while sophomore Anna Chiodo-Ortiz finished 29th in 21:55. Navy finished 23rd overall, as freshman Karla Mendoza was the Mids top-finisher in 22:34, with seven Julie Candau seven seconds behind in 22:41. Lafayette was just behind Navy in 24th, with sophomore Emily Moore finishing with a time of 22:16 and sophomore Caroline Harmon finishing in 22:31. Colgate took 31st-place with freshman Vicky Martinez finishing second third among Patriot League runners in 22:00, good for 33rd-place overall.
M-F ATHLETE MALE RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Lucas Stalnaker, Navy, Sr., Tega Clay, S.C.
For the second-consecutive week Stalnaker and third time this week Stalnaker captures the male runner of the week. He finished 22nd of 336 runners in the Gold Race at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh with a time of 24:07 on the 8K course. He helped the Mids place sixth of 38 teams, finishing behind No. 16 Iona, No. 8 Georgetown and No. 26 Penn.
M-F ATHLETE FEMALE RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Maura Henderson, Lehigh, So., Narbeth, Pa.
Henderson repeats as M-F Athlete Female Runner of the Week after running the fastest time by a Patriot League female at the Paul Short Run. Henderson finished 28th of 405 runners in 20:40 on the 6K course. Her 6K time was the second-fastest time ever by a Lehigh female at the Goodman Campus Course (Elizabeth Weiler – 20:27 – 2014 Paul Short). She helped the Mountain Hawks to 20th of 45 teams in the Gold Race, the programs best finish at the Paul Short Run since 2008.
M-F ATHLETE MALE ROOKIE RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Jeffrey Kirshenbaum, Lehigh, Fr., Norristown, Pa.
Kirshenbaum finished 126th of 336 runners in the Paul Short Run Gold Race on Saturday. He was Lehigh’s top finisher with a season-best 8Ktime of 25:03. He helped the Mountain Hawks to a 22nd-place finish of 38 teams.
M-F ATHLETE FEMALE ROOKIE RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Hannah Bonaguidi, Lehigh, Fr., Frenchtown, N.J.
Bonaguidi earns her third weekly honor and second rookie of the week selection after finishing 73rd of 405 runners in the Paul Short Run Gold Race. Her time of 21:07 was the fastest by a Patriot League freshman this year and the fourth-fastest 6K time in Lehigh history at the Goodman Campus Course.
HONORABLE MENTION
Louis Tobias, Bucknell, Sr., Cromwell, Conn.
Tobias finished 63rd of 392 runners in the Paul Short Run Brown Race. Tobias finished with a time of 25:37 on the 8K course, the best time of any Patriot League runner in that race.
Watson Hanson, Colgate, Jr., Radnor, Pa.
Hanson was Colgate’s top finisher, crossing the finish line 81st of 401 runners in the Paul Short Run Brown Race. He finished the 8K course in 25:45.
Colleen Buckley, Bucknell, Fr., River Edge, N.J.
Buckley finished 18th of 373 runners in the Paul Short Run Brown Race, helping Bucknell finish third out of 42 teams.
Vicky Martinez, Colgate, Fr., Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Martinez finished 33-of-373 runners in the Paul Short Run Brown Race. She finished the 6K course in 22:00, a new PR, as she was the Raiders top finisher for the third straight week.
M-F ATHLETE RUNNERS OF THE WEEK
9.27.16
Male: Lucas Stalnaker, Navy
Female: Maura Henderson, Lehigh
Male Rookie: Ben Siciliano, Bucknell
Female Rookie: Lauren Gronbeck, Bucknell
9.20.16
Male: Johnny Valeri, Army
Female: Hannah Bonaguidi, Lehigh
Male Rookie: Roman Ollar, Army
Female Rookie: Vicky Martinez, Colgate
9.13.16
Male: Lucas Stalnaker, Navy
Female: Kate Scott, Bucknell
Male Rookie: Paul Luevano, Boston University
Female Rookie: Abigail Gugel, Boston University
9.6.16
Male: Alaeldin Tirba, American
Female: Kate Scott, Bucknell
Male Rookie: Drew Dorflinger, Bucknell
Female Rookie: Hannah Bonaguidi, Lehigh