Sept. 22, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- The Lehigh men's cross country team's Steve Sample took first against Lafayette and was named the Patriot League Male Runner of the Week.

Lafayette's Sarah Welsh-Huggins took first on the women's side and was named the League's Female Runner of the Week.

Dylan Leazes, of Holy Cross, was named the Male Rookie of the Week and Navy's Annie Barry was named the Female Rookie of the Week.

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Male Runner of the Week

Steve Sample, Lehigh Jr., Monmouth Junction, N.J. Sample led Lehigh to victory over Lafayette Saturday, finishing first for the second time this season. His time of 26:25.8 helped Lehigh collected its 11th straight win over Lafayette.

Female Runner of the Week

Sarah Welsh-Huggins, Lafayette So., Columbus, Ohio Welsh-Huggins led the Leopards for the second time this season, earning her second first-place finish. She ran the 6K course in 21:56.30, but Lafayette fell short of Lehigh in the dual meet. Welsh-Huggins also took the top spot at Lehigh Valley Championships on Sept. 4.    

Male Rookie of the Week

Dylan Leazes, Holy Cross Fr., Providence, R.I. Leazes helped the Crusaders finish fifth out of 32 teams at the National Catholic Invitational at Notre Dame with his 46th-place finish. He ran the 8K course in 27:03.6.

Female Rookie of the Week

Annie Barry, Navy Fr., Crestwood, Ky. Barry finished 18th out of 32 runners to help fuel Navy's second-place finish at the Colgate Invitational Saturday. The Raiders finished second behind No. 23 Syracuse. Barry, who ran the 6K course in 23:28, recorded the Midshipmen's third-best time in the race for the second straight week.  

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Andrew Huebner, Bucknell Sr., Hampton Falls, N.H. Huebner placed second for the Bison in a dual meet at Duquesne with a time of 25:08 in the 8K earned him his second straight second-place finish for the Bison.

Cory Loftis, Holy Cross So., Branford, Conn. Loftis placed 12th at the National Catholic Invitational in Notre Dame, recording a time of 26:03.8 in the 8K race that featured 32 schools. Holy Cross finished fifth. 

Andrew Hanko, Navy Sr., Montville, N.J. Hanko finished third out of 50 runners at the Colgate Invitational, running the 8K race in 25:10.  

Amy Watson, Navy Sr., Hampstead, Md. Watson led Navy to a second-place finish at the Colgate Invitational, placing 11th out of 42 runners (22:23). It marked the eighth straight time that Watson has produced the top time for the Midshipmen.

Patriot League Notebook

Regional Rankings

The first men's and women's regional polls were released Sept. 14 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