Oct. 6, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- The Naval Academy's great weekend at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh led to three weekly awards.

Navy's Andrew Hanko was named the Male Runner of the Week and Amy Watson was named the Female Runner of the Week. Freshman Dean Black was named the Male Rookie of the Week.

Also having a good showing at the Paul Short Run was Army freshman Jillian Busby, who was named the Female Rookie of the Week.

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Male Runner of the Week

Andrew Hanko, Navy  Jr., Montville, N.J.  Hanko won his second straight Runner of the Week award, finishing 13th out of 386 runners at the Paul Short Run in Lehigh. His League-best finish at the meet helped Navy place fourth out of 42. He ran the 8K course in 23:54, only 14 seconds behind the individual champion. For Hanko, this is his third Runner of the Week award in 2009.

Female Runner of the Week

Amy Watson, Navy  Sr., Hampstead, Md.  Watson placed 28th out of 363 runners at the Paul Short Run Friday. She helped Navy place 12th out of 40 teams with her time of 21:06.

Male Rookie of the Week

Dean Black, Navy  Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.  Black was the Midshipmen's top freshman at the Paul Short Run, finishing 72nd out of 386 runners. His time of 24:45 helped Navy place fourth out of 42 teams.

Female Rookie of the Week

Jillian Busby, Army  Fr., Merrimack, N.H.  Busby finished 78th out of 363 runners as Army placed 31st of 40 teams at the Paul Short Run. She ran the 6K course in 21:46. This is Busby's second League honor.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Zac Reiter, Army  Sr., Rock Springs, Wyo.  Reiter finished 51st out of 386 runners at the Paul Short Run, leading Army to a 15th-place finish with his time of 24:36 in the 8K.

Andrew Huebner, Bucknell  Sr., Hampton Falls, N.H.  Huebner placed 42nd at the Paul Short Run with a time of 24:29, leading Bucknell to a 19th-place finish.

Sarah Moniz, Bucknell  Jr., Topsfield, Mass.  Moniz placed 59th out of 363 runners with a time of 21:37 at the Paul Short Run. She helped Bucknell finish 13th out of 40 teams.

Patriot League Notebook

Regional Rankings

The Week 2 men's and women's regional polls were released Oct. 5 with six Patriot League teams cracking the top 15 in their respective region. The Navy men earned the highest ranking as they are fourth in Mid-Atlantic Region. Bucknell is 10th and American is 12th. On the women's side, Navy is eighth, Bucknell is ninth and Lehigh is 15th.

Buzzing Fast New `Bees'

Watch out for Busby, Byrne and Barry. Army's Jillian Busby and Navy's Brigid Byrne and Annie Barry have posted the top freshmen performances of the season, thus far. Busby was named the Female Rookie of the Week for the second week in a row after placing 78th out of 363 runners at the Paul Short Run. Byrne, who won consecutive Rookie of the Week awards in the first two weeks of the season, placed 83rd at the Paul Short Run. Barry was the Rookie of the Week in between Byrne and Busby, placing 18th at the Colgate Invite. She also earned the Runner of the Week award last week after placing 11th at the William & Mary Inter-Regional.

Hanko Vying For Title

Navy's Andrew Hanko, the runner-up in last season's League Championship, has won three of five Runner of the Week awards, including the last two. Hanko's top finish of the season was when he placed first at the Navy Invitational on Sept. 15. He also led Navy at the Roy Griak Invite (22nd) and at the Paul Short Run (13th). In 2008, Hanko earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region and First-Team All-Patriot League honors. He was the 2007 Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

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 George Mason Invitational with the men placing sixth and women finishing seventh. The men were led by freshman Alex Lyons, who finished 43rd in his first career 8K (27:00). Rachel Forcino was the top finisher on the women's side, placing 29th in a time of 23:11 on the 6K course. American will be idle this weekend and return with the UVA Panorama Farms Invitational on Oct. 16 and the Leopard Invitational on Oct. 17.

Army The Black Knights ran at the Paul Short Run with the men's team finishing 15th and the women finishing 31st. Zac Reiter placed 51st on the men's side with a time of 24:36, while freshman Jillian Busby led the women with a 78th-place finish. Army will be idle this weekend, but the Black Knights will host Navy in the annual Star Meet on Oct. 16.

Bucknell The Bison had a strong showing at the Paul Short Run on Friday. The Bison men finished 19th out of 42 teams, while the women's squad was 13th of 40. For the third straight meet, Sarah Moniz and Andrew Huebner had the top performances for Bucknell. Moniz was 59th with a time of 21:37, while Huebner was 42nd (24:29). The Bison men and women will be idle this weekend and return to action at the Penn State National Invitational in State College, Pa., on Oct. 16.

Colgate The Raiders competed at the Paul Short Run with the men placing 22nd and the women finishing 26th. Junior Ed Sheridan led Colgate with his 34th-place finish. He ran the course in a personal-best time of 25:50. Sophomore Elise DeRoo led the women's team, finishing 15th with a school-record time of 20:42. She also had the best time among Patriot League schools. The women will be idle this week, while the men will compete against Hamilton at 11 a.m. The women will return when they travel to the Albany Invitational on Oct. 17.

Holy Cross The Crusaders competed at the Murray Keatinge Invitational in Orono, Maine, on Saturday. Sophomore Paige Sutherland led the women's team to fifth place at the meet with her 14th-place finish (17:58.16). It was her fastest time of the season. The men's team had two runners finish in the top 10 as the team was second overall. Senior Tim Richard led the way with his fifth-place finish (25:23.97). The Crusaders will be back on the course Saturday at the New England Championship in Boston.

Lafayette The Leopards competed at the Paul Short Run on Friday. The Lafayette women finished in 35th place, while the men placed 31st. Junior Margaret Bruno-Metzger was the top finisher on the women's side with a time of 22:03 to place 109th. Senior Rose Kennedy finished just behind her at 22:04. For the men, junior Ryan Stasiowski placed seventh in a time of 25:21. Lafayette will be idle this week and will host the Leopard Invitational at 10 a.m. Oct. 17.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks hosted the Paul Short Run on Friday with the men finishing 32nd out of 42 teams and the women finishing 30th out of 40 teams. Steve Sample led the men's team, placing 76th at the meet with a time of 24:46. Katherine Price was the top finisher on the women's side, placing 49th with a time of 21:31. Lehigh will be idle this weekend and will compete again at the Penn State National Invite in State College, Pa., at 10 a.m. on Oct. 16.

Navy The Midshipmen led the Patriot League at the Paul Short Run Friday with the men placing fourth out of 42 teams and the women finishing 12th out of 40 teams. Andrew Hanko led the men's team with a 12th-place finish, while Amy Watson placed 28th. Both the men's and women's teams will be idle this weekend and will return to the course at Army in the annual Star Meet on Oct. 16. The men will start at 4 p.m. and the women will follow at 4:45.