Patriot League Cross Country Release - 9.15.09 - PATRIOT LEAGUE OFFICIAL SITE

Sept. 15, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- Andrew Hanko and Brigid Byrne both led the Midshipmen last week and for their performances, they are two of four student-athletes honored by the Patriot League.

Hanko was selected as the Male Athlete of the Week and Byrne was named the Female Rookie of the Week.

Paige Sutherland, of Holy Cross, was named the Female Runner of the Week and American's Mark Leininger was named the Female Rookie of the Week.

Complete Release in PDF Format

Male Runner of the Week

Andrew Hanko, Navy Jr., Montville, N.J. Hanko finished first out of 78 runners at the Navy Invitational with a time of 24:37.1. It was his first first-place finish of his career as he crossed the line 12.3 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Hanko averaged a 4:57.2 mile on the 8K course. His top finish led the Navy Midshipmen to a finish first out of nine teams.

Female Runner of the Week

Paige Sutherland, Holy Cross So., Groveland, Mass. Sutherland led Holy Cross to a second-place finish at the Blue Devil Invitational by taking the top spot. She finished more than 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher with a time of 18:06.01.

Male Rookie of the Week

Mark Leininger, American Fr., Colts Neck, N.J. Leininger finished 20th at the competitive Navy Invitational, helping the Eagles place second behind Navy. He finished the 8K race in 25:53.90.

Female Rookie of the Week

Brigid Byrne, Navy Fr., Vienna, Va. Byrne finished 14th out of 109 runners to lead Navy to a third-place finish at the Navy Invitational. Her time of 23:32.88 led the pack of Midshipmen, who were competing against the No. 4 team in the region, Georgetown, and the No. 5 team in Division III, Johns Hopkins. Byrne has won the first two Rookie of the Week awards in 2009.

Jillian Busby, Army Fr., Merrimack, N.H. Busby placed fifth at Cornell, finishing in 18:59.7.

Zac Reiter, Army Sr., Rock Springs, Wyo. Reiter placed third at Cornell, finishing in 26:15.2.

Ryan Williams, American So., Burbank, Calif. Williams finished ninth at the Navy Invitational with a time of 25:17.8.

Octavia Rinehardt, American So., Virginia Beach, Va. Rinehardt claimed fifth place at the Navy Invitational, finishing in 22:47.21.

Patriot League Notebook

Regional Rankings

The first men's and women's regional polls were released Monday with seven Patriot League teams cracking the top 15 in their respective region. The Navy women earned the highest ranking as they are seventh in Mid-Atlantic Region. Bucknell is ninth and Lehigh is 12th. The Army women are ranked 11th in the Northeast Region. On the men's side, Lehigh is ninth, Navy is 10th and Bucknell is 12th in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Reinforcements

The Army men's team graduated its top two runners, but there's plenty of runners ready to step up and take the place of Patriot League champion Jon Anderson and First-Team All-League runner Andrew Catalano. Coming off their seventh League title in 19 seasons, Army returns two of its four All-League performers from last season. Stepping into the limelight will be Second-Team All-League seniors Zac Reiter, who finished 10th last season (25:17.5), and Kirk Chitwood, who placed 14th (25:22.2). Also returning for Army is junior Torre Alexis, who just missed an All-League performance, finishing 16th (25:25.4). Junior Bryce Livingston (19th) and senior Greg Griffith (26th) also return.

Vying For Three-peat

The Navy women's team's performance at the 2008 League meet was dominant, and with seven of eight top-15 runners returning, the Midshipmen are prepared to win their third straight title. The individual League champion, Amy Watson, who placed 153rd at the NCAA Championships, returns for her senior season. She was one of four First-Team All-League runners for Navy as junior Katie Rentz finished third, sophomore Marina McGrial placed fourth and sophomore Jess Palacio was fifth. Second-Team All-League runners Lexa Gass (ninth) and Anna Bernal (14th) also return, with 15th-place finisher sophomore Kristine Mun. Junior Bethany Rahall (26th), senior Erica Ziel (29th) and senior Jenny Rubin (36th) will provide depth for the experienced Midshipmen.

Navy Sweeps Preseason Polls

The Navy men's and women's cross country teams have been selected to finish first in their respective 2009 Patriot League Preseason Polls. Both squads are the reigning Patriot League Champions. The Navy women's squad, which won the title outright last season, earned 97 points in the preseason poll, including 13 first-place votes. Bucknell garnered the other three first-place votes and 87 points to finish second in the poll. Lehigh was picked to finish third with 67 points, followed by Army (58) and Colgate (41). Holy Cross (40), American (38) and Lafayette (18) round out the eight teams in the poll. On the men's side, Navy took the top spot with 95 points and 11 first-place votes. Army picked up the other five first-place votes and 89 points to finish second. American (69), Lehigh (61) and Bucknell (55) followed in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively. Holy Cross and Colgate tied for sixth with 31 points, while Lafayette was picked eighth with 15 points.

2009 Patriot League Championships

The 2009 Patriot League Cross Country Championships will take place on Oct. 31 at Colgate University. The top-14 finishers in both the men and women's race will be awarded All-Patriot League status, with the top-seven being named to the First-Team and the next seven earning Second-Team recognition.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles competed at the Navy Invitational on Saturday with the men finishing second out of nine teams and women finishing sixth out of eight teams. Ryan Williams led the men with a ninth-place finish (25:17.8) and Octavia Rinehardt placed fifth for the women (22:47.21). The Eagles will be idle this week before they travel to the William and Mary Inter-Regional on Sept. 26. Among other teams, American will be running against Navy for the third straight meet.

Army The Black Knights competed against Cornell on Friday with the Big Red winning in both the men's and women's race. Zac Reiter finished third for the men, who lost 18-42, and freshman Jillian Busby placed fifth for the women, who lost 17-44. Army will be idle this week and will return to the course when the men and women compete at the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 26.

Bucknell The Bison were idle last week and the men's and women's teams will travel to Duquesne for a dual meet Saturday. Bucknell opened its season a high note, as the men's and women's teams earned first-place finishes at the 15th Annual Harry Lang Invitational on Sept. 5.

Colgate The Raiders were idle last week and will host the Colgate Invitational on Saturday. Colgate opened the season on Sept. 5 when it hosted the 15th Annual Harry Lang Invitational, finishing second on the women's side and third on the men's. Sophomore Elise DeRoo scored the top finish for the women and Ed Sheridan led the men's squad.

Holy Cross The Crusaders opened their season at the Blue Devil Invitational at Central Connecticut. The women's team finished second out of four teams with Paige Sutherland leading the way with her first-place finish (18:06.01). The men's team placed third with Tim Richard finishing as the runner-up. The men's and women's teams will return to the course when they compete at the National Catholic Invitational on Friday.

Lafayette The Leopards were idle last week and will compete against Lehigh at home on Saturday. Lafayette opened the season on Sept. 4 at the Lehigh Valley Championship with the women's team finishing second and the men's team placing third. Sarah Welsh-Huggins led the women's team with her first-place finish (22:31.4). Ryan Stasiowski had the top finish on the men's side, placing third (18:50.5).

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks were idle last week and will compete at Lafayette on Saturday. Lehigh opened the season on Sept. 4 with first-place finishes by both the men's and women's teams at the Lehigh Valley Championship. Junior Steve Sample took the top spot on the men's side (18:45.0) and sophomore Katherine Pierce was second in the women's race (22:45.4).

Navy The Midshipmen competed at the Navy Invitational with the men taking the top spot and women finishing third. Andrew Hanko led the men's team, winning the individual title (24:37.1). The women's team was led by freshman Brigid Byrne, who placed 14th out of 109 runners. The Midshipmen will return to competition when they travel to the Colgate Invitational.