Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Cross Country Teams Prepare for Patriot League Championships
10/25/2001 8:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 25, 2001
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After an outstanding regular season, the Bucknell University men's and women's cross country teams will begin a succession of championship meets this Saturday at the Patriot League Championships, hosted by Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.
First-year head coach Kevin Donner expects both his men's and women's squads to be in the hunt for the team titles.
"We feel as though we are the favorite on the women's side," said Donner. "We are a very healthy team, and we seem to be mentally focused. It would be nice for the seniors on the team to finish their cross country careers with four titles."
Led by senior co-captain Becki Marshall, the women's team is looking to win its fourth straight Patriot League championship. Bucknell returns five of its top seven runners that helped the team win the 2000 Patriot League crown, including Marshall, a two-time Patriot League individual cross country champion. Marshall placed first at the league meet as both a sophomore and junior, and has enjoyed a stellar senior campaign this year. She placed first at the Bucknell Gulden Duals and the Lock Haven Invitational this season, and can become just the second athlete in Patriot League history to win three individual cross country championships.
Junior Theresa Dennis and senior Chris Crowe return this season after picking up All-Patriot League honors virtue of their top-10 finishes at last year's championship. Dennis placed third in 21:38.3 at the 6,000 meter contest a year ago, while Crowe took sixth in 22:00.8.
Seniors Kelly McConnell and Kristin Ferrell will provide Bucknell with additional championship experience. McConnell, a team co-captain, took 18th in 23:15.1 at the 2000 PL Championship, and senior Kristin Ferrell was the 33rd place finisher in 23:45.3.
Also competing at this year's event will be junior Nicki Piper, sophomores Cecily Cairns and Stephanie Keller, and freshmen Katie Bishop, Jennifer Marsh, Carolyn Mateskon and Kelly Raffety.
Finishing second and 34 points (21-55) behind the Bison at last season's championship was Lehigh University, while Army took third with a 60-point total. Bucknell hasn't faced Army this season, but finished nine places ahead of Lehigh when the squads competed at the 39-team Paul Short Invitational on Oct. 6.
On the men's side, the Bison are hoping to re-capture the league crown after finishing second to Army at last year's championship meet. Bucknell had previously won the Patriot League Men's Cross Country Championship three years in a row from 1997-99.
"We are anticipating a real tight race with Army for the men's title," said Donner. "We're going to need our number three though six runners to really perform. Our men our physically ready and just need to get it done on Saturday."
The men's team returns a pair of All-Patriot League performers from last season in junior co-captain Greg Costello and graduate student Kevin Weatherill. Costello will look to improve upon his fifth-place (25:13.0) finish from a year ago and contend for the individual championship. He will be pushed by Weatherill, who will aim to better his eighth-place performance (25:16.4) from last season.
Four other Bison will compete at the 2001 championship after placing in the top-30 at last year's meet. Junior co-captain Bryan Johnston took 16th last season in 25:56.2, while senior P.J. Ward and junior Lou Palma return after taking 21st (26:02.7) and 22nd (26:03.1), respectively. Senior Travis Etters, who placed 27th at the 2000 championship in 26:14.2, will bolster the Bison with additional depth.
Rounding out the Bucknell men's contingent will be junior Eric Furst, sophomores Marcus Jones, Nick Mousetis, Wes Reinhardt and Stephen Schaefer, and freshman Travis Rivers.
The festivities begin on Saturday with the men's 8,000-meter race at 11 a.m., followed the women's 6,000-meter competition at noon. The top 10 finishers in both races will receive All-League status.
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