Bucknell University
Penn State National Invitational
Bucknell Women 16th, Men 18th in National Caliber Meet at Penn State
10/16/2004 8:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 16, 2004
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Bucknell men's and women's cross country teams made the short trip to State College, Pa., on Saturday where the Bison men finished 18th and the Bucknell women placed 16th in an exceptionally large field of runners. Sophomores Leanna Nastase and Matt Forys were the top Bison finishers on the day.
The Bison women, racing in arguably one of the toughest competitions in the nation this season with four teams ranked in the top 30 nationally, placed 16th in an talent packed, 41 team race. Nastase finished 73rd overall in a time of 22:31 over the 6,000-meter course.
The Bucknell women made an excellent display of pack running with all five Bison scorers finishing within just 22 seconds of one another. Freshman Erin Cranmer-Hart was second for the Bison for the second straight race finishing in 22:36, good enough for 82nd place overall.
Jenny Stevens and Jen Marsh were next for the Bison in 102nd and 103rd positions, both clocking a time of 22:46. Katie Pfeifer rounded out the Bison scoring in 110th place with a time of 22:53. Not far behind, Julie Jakoboski and Lauren Bricker closed out the Bison top seven in 125th and 142nd places. Jakoboski finished in 23:06 while Bricker clocked a time of 23:14.
On the men's side, Forys placed 71st overall leading the Bison to an 18th place finish out of 38 teams. Forys clocked a time of 26:52 in the 5.2 mile race to finish as Bucknell's top finisher for the first time this season.
Like the women, the Bison men also finished as a solid pack with Stephen Schaefer (27:14) and Doug Creveling (27:16) placing 112th and 113th. Ryan Delaney followed in 117th place in 27:18 and Travis Rivers was the final scorer for the Bison in 126th position in 27:21.
K. C. Brown (27:22) finished directly behind Rivers in 127th place. Freshman Andrew Corral was the last of the Bison top seven finishing 146th overall in 27:33.
On the women's side, the number two ranked Providence Friars won the race with just 49 points. Defending Patriot League champion American captured the men's title, also totaling 49 points.
The Bison have next weekend off before hosting the Patriot League Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30 at the Bucknell golf course. The meet is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
