Oct. 26, 2007

New Britain, CT - Sometimes it takes a steady mix of the young and the old to be successful. For the Wagner men's cross country team this seems to be the ingredients for a successful NEC Meet.

The Green & White are led by 2006 All-NEC performer Mouhamed Halwani (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian). The senior harrier leads the Seahawks, winning three NEC Cross Country Athlete of the Week awards this year. Last week at the CCSU Mini-Meet, Halwani was the first NEC runner to cross the line while competing against the Blue Devils, who are widely regarded as the team to beat. Complementing him is freshman Derek Rammelkamp (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place), who has earned the last three NEC Rookie of the Week accolades the NEC has dished out.

Junior Brian Halling (Amherst, NH/Souhegan), who has been plagued by injuries all last season, and sophomore James Johnson (Middle Island, NY/Longwood), who is coming off a mid-meet calf injury at the METS Chamionships, look to bring the heat to the rest of the NEC and eclipse the middle of the pack. Not to be outdone by his twin brother, the tenacious Thomas Rammelkamp (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) looks to score big as a top NEC finisher.

Brecken Drager was named last weeks NEC Cross Country Athlete of the Week

The women have been led all year by California native Brecken Drager (Loomis, CA/Del Oro). The junior is coming off her first NEC Cross Country Athlete of the Week award with a fourth place finish at the CCSU Mini-Meet. This award has been a long time in the making as Drager has been at the top of the NEC finishers all season.

Close behind Drager is senior Meaghan Robbins (Waymart, PA/Western Wayne) who has finished under 30 seconds behind Drager in the last two meets. Staten Island native Ashley Mallen (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa) looks to have a break out performance as she has been performing at a stellar pace all season. Don't be surprised to see sophomore Jenna Nalgeri (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) and junior Ryan Rogers (Islip, NY/Islip) to be crossing the tape together as the duo has kept close together all season.

Both the men and women were picked seventh in the NEC Pre-season coaches' poll, a ranking they took very personally and will keep in their minds as they take their mark on Saturday. The NEC Championships are being held in New Britain, CT on Saturday, October 26th.