Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Cross Country Sends Runners To Western Ontario And Juniata
9/19/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 19, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's and women's cross country teams are set to run at both the Western Ontario International Invitational and the Juniata Invitational this Saturday. The Bison had this past weekend off and two weeks ago, ran a squad of only freshmen at the Bloomsburg Invitational for second place on both the men's and women's sides. Bucknell began the 2007 campaign at home in the Bison Open on Aug. 31.
"This is a big weekend for us as we have everyone participating in either Western Ontario or Juniata," said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner, "Many of our athletes have not raced for three weeks. The meet at Western Ontario will be very competitive with such notable programs as Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Most of the top Canadian schools will be there as well. It is a great opportunity for our men to run the longer 10k distance to prepare for NCAA Regionals; the women will run 5k."
Donner also notes that, "The meet at Juniata is a great opportunity for our middle tier runners to prove themselves in a competitive situation. Slippery Rock is ranked in Division II and St. Francis will be competitive as well."
Bison Cross Country Notebook
On the Freshmen at Bloomsburg on Sept. 8 -
- The Bison men finished second behind Bloomsburg and ahead of Bloomfield in third. The women also took second, following Bloomsburg and defeating Drew and Bloomfield in third and fourth, respectively.
- Freshman Stephen Dorsey (North Wales, Pa./Casalle Collegiate) led the men with a fourth-place showing in the 8,000-meter run, finishing in 27 minutes, 44 seconds. This was the second weekend in a row that Dorsey was the top performer in the freshman class. At the Bison Open on Aug. 31, he paced Bucknell's newcomers with a ninth-place finish in the 3-mile race.
- First-years Charles Murphy (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn), Jeff Salvitti (West Chester, Pa./Salesianum), and Joshua Clark (Vincentown, N.J./Seneca) were also among the fastest Bison on the men's side. Murphy took sixth (27:50.00), Savitti finished eighth (28:00.00) and Clark followed in ninth (28:35.00).
- Freshman Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) was the top finisher for Bucknell on the women's side in the 6,000-meter run, taking sixth in 24:57.00. Freshmen Eileen Foley (Herndon, Va./Chantilly), Ashley Avilleira (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial), and Lauren Wiemken (Howell, N.J./Howell) followed in seventh (25:23.00), eighth (25:38.00) and ninth (25:58.00), respectively.
On the Bison Open -
- Bucknell started the season at home in the Bison Open on Aug. 31. The Bison hosted Susquehanna, Scranton, and Kutztown for the 3-mile race, and swept eight of the top-10 placements for the men, and seven of the top-10 placements for the women.
- Senior Wallace Campbell (Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Academy) led the Bucknell men; he won the meet in 14 minutes, 40.85 seconds.
- Campbell was followed by senior teammate Michael Gibney (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham Wading River) in second with a time of 15:03.54, while sophomore Andrew Huebner (Hampton Falls, N.H./Governor Drummer) and junior Clinton Orloski (Butler, Pa./Slippery Rock), took fourth (15:09.71) and fifth (15:11.97) respectively.
- Senior Christine Totten (Perkasie, Pa./Pannridge) was the first-place finisher for the Bison on the women's side in 17:37.28 followed by junior Nicole Falcaro (Dingman's Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley) in second with a time of 17:39.64, and junior Gillian Nordquist (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) in third (17:47.86). Freshman Alexa Griffiths (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) and senior Erin Cranmer-Hart (Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock Area) took fourth (17:52.13) and fifth (18:02.47) respectively.
Honors and Rankings -
- For his first-place finish at the Bison Open, Campbell earned Patriot League Runner of the Week Honorable Mention for the men on Sept. 5.
- Dorsey notched Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 11 after leading the Bucknell freshman class for the second consecutive week. At the Bison Open, on Aug. 31, he was the highest finisher of Bison newcomers, and was the top finisher for the all-freshman squad at the Bloomsburg Invitational on Sept. 8.
- On Aug. 28, the Bucknell women's cross country team took the No. 1 spot in the Patriot League Preseason Poll with 96 points and 13 first-place votes. On the men's side, Bucknell tied with Army for the third pick in the league preseason poll released with 67 points.
- The Bucknell women's cross country team is sixth on the US Track and Field, Cross Country Coaches Association's Mid-Atlantic Regional rankings list (as of Sept. 11). Bucknell's men's team is ranked 10th for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Looking Ahead -
- Following this weekend, the Bison will travel to Bethlehem, Pa. for the Paul Short Invitational on Sept. 28, and then to Easton, Pa. for the Leopard Invitational on Oct. 13.
- The Patriot League Championships are set for Oct. 27 in Easton, Pa. and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships are scheduled for Nov. 10.
