Oct. 29, 2008

Center Valley, Pa.- The Patriot League Championship schedule kicks off with the Men's and Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday at the Lehigh University Cross Country Course. The women's 6000m race begins at 11 a.m., with the men's 8000m race following at noon.

The Navy women will look to win their second consecutive League Championship under Head Coach Karen Boyle. The Mids were co-Patriot League Champions in 2007 with Bucknell after both teams tied for first place at the event. On the men's side, Navy is attempting to win its first Patriot League Championship under Head Coach Al Cantello. Both Navy teams were picked to win the championship in a preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors.

Both teams will face considerable competition from their Patriot League counterparts. In several meets this year that featured more than one Patriot League team, the League schools finished closely in the standings. At the Iona Meet of Champions on Sept. 20, Navy's men's team finished fourth of 24 teams, while the Lehigh men finished fifth. At the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 27, Army's men finished 14th of 25, while Navy's men finished 15th. For the women, Navy finished ninth of 23 and Army finished 18th.

The Paul Short Invitational, which was run Oct. 3 on the same course as the Patriot League Championship, featured six Patriot League men's teams and six women's teams. On the men's side, the top Patriot League finishers were Army (14th), Lehigh (15th) and American (16th); Bucknell (26th), Colgate (35th) and Lafayette (42nd) rounded out the Patriot League representatives of the 45 total participant teams. For the women, Navy finished in 10th place, followed by Bucknell (12th), Lehigh (17th), Army (23rd), Lafayette (34th) and Colgate (39th) of 43 teams.

Highlighting the men's field are multiple Patriot League Runner of the Week winners Jonathan Anderson of Army and Bill Prom of Navy. Anderson, a Second-Team All-Patriot League selection from a year ago, won three Patriot League Runner of the Week accolades this season for his standout performances at the Roy Griak Invitational, Paul Short Invitational and the annual Army-Navy Star Meet, in which Anderson finished first of 24 runners. Prom, also a 2007 Second-Team All-Patriot League selection, finished third of 176 at the Fordham Invitational and fourth of 117 at the following week's Navy Invitational, earning him consecutive weekly awards. Holy Cross' Cory Loftis, who twice won Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors, may also pose a threat in this year's competition. In addition to Anderson and Prom, Bucknell's Clinton Orloski and American's Carlos Jamieson return from last year's Second-Team All-Patriot League squad to compete at this year's Championship.

Colgate's Stacey Marion, the 2007 Most Outstanding Runner of the Meet and Rookie of the Year, is back this year for the Raiders. Marion will be challenged by two runners from Navy who dominated the Runner of the Week awards on the women's side. Amy Watson and Katie Rentz each won three weekly Patriot League awards, with Watson becoming the first female cross country student-athlete to win the award three consecutive weeks. Also competing in this year's race is Lehigh's Shannon Alejandro, who along with Marion and Watson earned First-Team All-Patriot League selections last year. Four 2007 Second-Team All-Patriot League selections, Bucknell's Gillian Nordquist, Holy Cross' Caitlin Paluilis, Army's Stephanie Schoeneman and Navy's Lexa Gass, are all returning for this year's title meet. But the veterans should expect to be challenged by an outstanding crop of rookies, including Bucknell's Caitlin Cavanaugh and Stephanie Fulmer, American's Octavia Rinehardt and Holy Cross' Paige Sutherland, all of whom have won multiple Patriot League accolades in both the Runner and Rookie categories this fall.

Patriot League cross country squads have had successful seasons across the board. In the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Poll, five men's teams and three women's teams were ranked in regional polls. For the men, Navy is ranked 10th in the Mid-Atlantic Region, the highest ranking of all Patriot League men's teams. The Mids are followed closely by Lehigh (11th), American (12th) and Bucknell (15th) in the region. Army is ranked 12th in the Northeast Region. For the women, Navy comes in ranked sixth, followed by Bucknell (eighth) and Lehigh (11th).

For up-to-date information, including team rosters and past Patriot League champions, please visit the Patriot League Cross Country Championship page.

For more on the 2008 cross country season, see:

2008 Cross Country Weekly Releases

2008 Cross Country Preseason Polls