Bucknell Cross Country Set for Patriot League Championship Meet on Saturday
10/30/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 30, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The goal of the Bucknell men's and women's cross country teams all season has been to win the Patriot League Championships, and on Saturday, Nov. 1, they will finally get their chance. The Bison will travel to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., and compete against Patriot League rivals American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy for the right to hoist the championship trophy. The Bison women have won the last three league titles, sharing the championship last year with Navy. Navy was picked No. 1 in the Patriot League preseason poll, while the Bison were selected second. The Bucknell men came in fourth in the preseason poll, behind Navy, American and Army. American won the men's title last year, while the Bison placed fourth.
Bison head coach Kevin Donner believes that there are "four or five teams that have a chance to win the championship. It may be one of the closest meets in many years." Donner expects strong races from American, Army and Navy, as well as one from the host Mountain Hawks. Bucknell will have to have a number of strong performances from its runners in order to claim its first Patriot League title since 1999.
The Orange and Blue finished first at the Bison Open (out of four teams), as well as at the Running Fit-Detroit Titan Invitational (out of 13). The team then placed second out of 11 schools at the Buffalo Stampede, but has stumbled a bit in its last two races finishing 26th (out of 45) and 7th (out of 13) at the Paul Short Invitational and the Princeton Invitational, respectively.
Bison junior co-captain Andrew Huebner (Hampton Falls, N.H./Governor Dummer Academy) has been the top performer for Bucknell in each of its meets so far this season and has twice received weekly honorable mention recognition by the Patriot League. Hip top races include placing first overall at the Bison Open, third at the Buffalo Stampede and fifth at the Detroit Invitational. Fellow co-captain Clinton Orloski (Butler, Pa./Slippery Rock) had top-10 finishes at each of those races as well, and was named Second Team All-Patriot League a year ago.
Sophomores Joshua Clark (Vincentown, N.J./Seneca), Stephen Dorsey (North Wales, Pa./La Salle High School) and Ian Shore (South Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) and juniors Conor McNamara (Baldwin, N.Y./Chaminade), Kevin McGoldrick (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and Baron Willeford (New Orleands, La./Columbia Prep (N.Y.)) have all demonstrated the ability to run solid races this season. Bison freshman Dave Brown (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) was named Patriot League Male Rookie of the Week following his 16th-place finish at the Buffalo Stampede.
On the women's side, Donner cited Navy as the Bison's "biggest obstacle" to overcome in winning a title, but expects strong races from a number of teams, including Army, Holy Cross and Lehigh.
Bucknell's women's team has battled injuries throughout the year, but has still managed a number of strong performances, starting with a first-place finish at the Bison Open. The team has placed second at the Detroit Invitational (out of 13 teams), the Buffalo Stampede (out of 10) and the Princeton Invitational (out of 10). The Bison also placed 12th at the Paul Short Invitational in a tough, 43-team field.
A pair of Bucknell freshmen have led the way for team this year, as either Caitlin Cavanaugh (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) or Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) has been the team's top-runner at a meet. Cavanaugh started the year finishing second at the Bison Open and sixth at the Detroit Invitational and received Patriot League Female Rookie of the Week honors following the latter race. Fulmer was a top-10 finisher in both of those races, and led Bucknell in the team's three remaining meets. She finished fifth at the Buffalo Stampede, and received Patriot League Female Runner of the Week honors for that race, before being named the league's female rookie of the week after finishing 55th out of 301 runners at the Paul Short Invitational two weeks later. Fulmer finished fourth at the Princeton Invitational, while Cavanaugh placed eighth.
Bucknell senior co-captain Gillian Nordquist (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) is a two-time All-Patriot League performer and has three top-15 finishes this year. Bison sophomores Alaina Chodoff (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East), Alexa Griffiths (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua) and Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) have all been consistent scorers for the team, as has senior Nicole Falcaro (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley). Freshman Allison Donaghy (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) had two top-10 finishes to start the season, before battling injury, while classmates Alysha Hooper (Meaford, Ontario/St. Mary's) and Kelly Grosskurth (Huntington Station, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) have raced strongly in the latter half of the season.
The 6K women's race starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, while the 8K men's meet will begin at 12 p.m.