Oct. 28, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. — The Patriot League Cross Country Championships will take place at Colgate University’s Harry Lang Cross Country Course Saturday, and for the second year in the row, three teams will hit the course trying to retain their titles.

The Navy women, who ran away with the title last season, and the Navy and Army men’s teams, who shared the championship, will look to win consecutive titles.

The Army men’s team took the overall lead in League titles by winning its seventh last season, while the Navy men and women each won their second.

The men’s race will open the 2009 Patriot League Championships with their race at 11 a.m. with the women’s race to follow at noon.

American The Eagles men’s team finished fourth last season with 86 points, while the women placed fifth with 154 points. This year, the men’s team has been led by a quartet of sophomores and a freshman, including the two-time Rookie Runner of the Week, Mark Leininger, and sophomore Colin Eustis, who led the Eagles in two races this season. They will join sophomores Josh Olsen, Craig Brown and Ryan Williams and juniors Conor Sullivan and Jeff Branningan. Brannigan placed 11th last season at the Championships with a time of 25:17.9. The women’s side will be led by Octavia Rinehardt, who placed eighth last season as a freshman with a time of 21:46.0. She will be joined by Rachel Forcino, Greta Wicklund, Natalie Omundson, Lauren Scholl, Kellie Quinn and Tara Jakubik.

Army The Black Knights men’s team shared the title with Navy last season, earning 47 points. Second-Team All-League runners Zac Reiter and Kirk Chitwood return for the race this year. Reiter has led the Black Knights in every event this year. Gregory Griffith, Barrett LeHardy, Bryce Livingston, Daniel Nix and Alexis Torre-Santiago also will look to lead Army to its eighth team title. The women’s team, which placed fourth last season (96 points) has been led by newcomer Jillian Busby, who has been selected as a Female Rookie of the Week three times this season. She has led Army in four out of five races. Courtney Clement picked up the other top finish for the Black Knights. The two front-runners will be joined by First-Team All-League runner Chelsea Prahl and Second-Team All-League Ashley Morgan. Claire Betterbed, Marcie Nordt and Christina Rath also will look to lead the Black Knights.

Colgate The Raiders women’s team, which finished seventh last season with 183 points, will look to make a run for its second individual championship in three years as they return the 2007 Champion, junior Stacey Marion, and boast one of this season’s top League runners in Elise DeRoo. The sophomore led the League at the Paul Short Run, finishing 15th. DeRoo has twice been named the League’s Female Runner of the Week and she has set several school records throughout the season. DeRoo and Marion will be joined by Julie Tarallo, Kelly Cattano, Emily Oliver, Hilary Hooley and Sarah Cable. The men’s team, which finished seventh last season (177 points), will be led by Ed Sheridan, who has had the team’s top finish in four races this season. Dan Gleason and Chris Johnson have joined Sheridan as the team’s top three finishers throughout the 2009 season. Grif Cannon, Tim Metivier, Grant Stauffer and Bryan Crowley also will compete for Colgate.

Holy Cross The Crusaders picked up sixth-place finishes from both the men and women’s cross country teams last season. Sophomore Paige Sutherland has led the women’s team in 2009, winning the Blue Devil Invitational and finishing in sixth place in two other races. She has twice won the League’s Runner of the Week award. Teammates Jacqueline Imse and Sarah Mellea have had top 10 finishes, as well. They will be joined by teammates Claire Luke, Meghan Dunne, Elizabeth Humphries and Sarah Croteau. On the men’s side, Tim Richard has been the top runner thus far, collecting two top-five finishes and a Runner of the Week award. Cory Loftis and Dylan Leazes also have had success during the regular season with three top-15 finishes each. Dan Altenau, Brendan Medeiros, Kevin Turner and Kyle Shepard also will compete for the Crusaders. 

Lafayette The Leopards will look to improve on last season’s eighth-place finishes by both the men and women’s team. Sarah Welsh-Huggins, a Runner of the Week award winner, and Margaret Bruno-Metzger have been the women’s team’s top runners this season. Welsch-Huggins posted the team’s top time at the Paul Short Run and Bruno-Metzger was third. Rose Kennedy had the team’s second-best finish at the Paul Short Run. Erika Staskova, Jon St. Onge, Erin Mee and Kerry Taylor also will run for the Leopards. The men have been led Ryan Stasiowski, who finished second against Lehigh. Josh Sadlock, Matt DeBlander, Dayne Mosconi, Sean Casey, Steve Comanto and Justin Marcus also will compete for Lafayette.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks will look to compete again for a League title on both the men’s and women’s side. Last season, the men finished third with 77 points and the women placed third with 93 points. Steve Sample has led Lehigh this season, finishing first against Lafayette and winning a Runner of the Week award. Evan Kosgei, a Second-Team All-League runner from 2008, will make his return to the Championships. Douglas Ridyard, Kenny Burgess, Matthew Sheridan, Steve Abate and Evan Flach also will compete for Lehigh. Katherine Pierce and Kaitlin Grimm have been the team’s top runners at times throughout the 2009 season. At the Paul Short Run, Andrea Mascaro recorded the team’s best time and Alexis Weiner had the second best. Dana Stellar, Megan Hetzel, Jen Curran and Sam Andersen also will compete for Lehigh.

Navy The Midshipmen will look to repeat on both the men and women’s side. The men’s team, which is ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic Region, has been led by last season’s League runner-up, Andrew Hanko. The First-Team All-League runner has won four Runner of the Week awards and has two individual wins this season. Matt DeVillers, also named to the 2008 First-Team, and Dean Black, a two-time Rookie of the Week, will join Hanko as Navy vies for its third straight title. Jeremy Haney, last season’s Rookie of the Year, Cody Rome, Dominic DellaPella, Ken Bunnell and James Pearson each have three top-20 finishes. Amy Watson, last season’s individual champion, returns along with a with four other All-League runners from 2008. First-Team All-League runners Katie Rentz and Jess Palacio and Second-Team All-League runners Lexa Gass and Anna Bernal return, while standout freshmen Brigid Byrne and Annie Barry will add depth for Navy. Erica Ziel, the 2008 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, also returns.