Bucknell's Women's Cross Country Team Wins Patriot League Championships
Oct. 29, 2005
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Bucknell's women's cross country team finished first at the Patriot League Championships early Saturday afternoon, hosted by Lehigh, in Bethlehem, Pa. The Bison women, who finished fourth last year, collected 42 points to defeat the 2004 champion, Army. The men repeated last year's fifth place performance, while compiling 147 points. Coach Donner received the Patriot League's Coach of the Year award for the women. This year's award marks Donner's 10th league honor in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, combined. Winning the six-kilometer race, overall, for the women was American's Keira Carlstrom, with a time of 20 minutes, 19 seconds. Helping Bucknell win its first PL victory since 2001, was junior Jennifer Stevens (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing Valley), who finished first on the squad and fourth overall, with a total time of 21:14, less than a minute behind Carlstrom. The Bison's next finisher was junior Leanna Nastase (Beaverdale, Pa./Forest Hills), who finished sixth overall, with a time of 21:37, while, in Bucknell's number three spot, sophomore Erin Cranmer-Hart (Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock) finished ninth overall (21:47). Rounding-out the Bison's scorers were sophomore Lauren Bricker (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and senior Kayla Halloran (Norwell, Mass./Norwell). Bricker finished eleventh overall and fourth for the Orange and Blue (21:51), as Halloran finished right on Bricker's heels in twelfth overall (fifth for Bucknell), with a time of 21:54. "Our women ran fantastically, and ran according to our plan," said head coach Kevin Donner. "We came away with our first championship in four years. I am very proud of them." Overall, Army took second (67 points), with Lehigh finishing third (77 points) and American finished in the number four slot (102 points). On the men's side, American repeated its 2004 victory, this year with 22 points, with Steve Hallinan winning the 8K race at 24:27. For the Bison, sophomore Wallace Campbell (Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Academy) finished first and 18th overall, with a time of 25:12. Junior Matt Forys (Howell, N.J./Howell) finished in the Bison's number two slot, with a time of 25:30, good enough for 24th overall.
Junior Derrin Pierret (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) was Bucknell's next finisher (34th overall, 25:51), while senior Kevin Fortkiewicz (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) finished right behind Pierret and fourth for the Orange and Blue (35th overall, 25:53). Rounding out the Bison's scorers was sophomore Michael Gibney (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham Wading River), who turned in a time of 26:02, good enough for a 36th place finished overall. "We didn't run the race we had planned, however, finishing fifth is what was expected of us," said Donner. "Campbell turned in a super performance and we are glad to have him back after being ill." Taking second for the men was Army (71 points), with Navy in third (79 points) and host Lehigh in fourth (85 points) Both teams will return to action in two weeks, on November 12, as they are scheduled to run at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, to be held on the same course as the PL Championships, in Bethlehem, Pa.
Men's Results PL Championships Oct. 29, 2005 18. Wallace Campbell 25:12 24. Matt Forys 25:30 34. Derrin Pierret 25:51 35. Kevin Fortkiewicz 25:53 36. Michael Gibney 26:02 39. Ryan Delaney 26:07 40. Chris Nocera 26:10 48. William Holleran 26:10 53. Matt Schelberg 26:20 61. Sean Egan 26:52 63. James Redmond 26:51 71. Kevin Brown 27:29 |
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