Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Cross Country Heads for NCAA Mid-Atlantic Championships
11/12/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 12, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell cross country will continue with its competitive schedule, racing at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Championships in University Park, Pa., on Saturday. The Bison will be attempting to advance to the national championships when they go up against high-caliber teams such as Villanova, Georgetown and Princeton. Races at Penn State's Blue & White Golf Course begin at 10 a.m.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Thanks to their performance at the Patriot League Championships on Oct. 30, three Bison earned All-Patriot League honors. Junior Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) earned her third consecutive first-team selection, placing sixth overall. Senior Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) was also named to the first team with a seventh-place finish. Rounding out the group was Alysha Hooper (Meaford, Ontario/St. Mary's). Hooper earned her first career all-league accolade, finishing 14th for a selection to the second team.
- Bucknell finished second as a team at the league championships, giving them a top-two finish for the sixth time in as many years. Joining Fulmer, Moniz and Hooper in the Bison's scoring pack were senior Alaina Chodoff (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) and sophomore Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport). Chodoff was 18th overall, earning her best finish at a championship meet, while Tolli was 19th.
- Tolli peaked at the right time in her first cross country season. The sophomore scored in each of her two races, making those the first meets in which she tallied points for the Bison.
- Hooper and Moniz earned a second set of awards after the Patriot League Championships. The duo was named to the seven-person Academic All-Patriot League Team. In addition to her performance at the league meet, Hooper has worked her way to a 3.66 cumulative grade-point average as a computer science major. Moniz has a 3.43 GPA in neuroscience.
- Bucknell improved to the No. 7 spot on the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region poll after the Patriot League Championships. The Bison are now the highest ranked league team, bettering Navy (11th) and American (15th) in the Mid-Atlantic region and Colgate (8th) in the Northeast.
- Among Bucknell's regional competitors on Saturday are Villanova, Georgetown, Princeton and Penn State. Not only is Villanova the Mid-Atlantic's top-ranked squad, but the defending national champion Wildcats are also number one in the country. Georgetown is also fifth nationally, while Princeton is 19th and Penn State is 28th.
- When the Bison competed at last year's Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, they finished 12th out of 27 teams. Leading the group was Moniz with a six-kilometer time of 22 minutes, 44 seconds, good for 38th overall. Hooper was 69th (23:30), and Kelly Grosskurth (Huntington Station, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East) was 84th (23:48). Fulmer did not compete.
- If Bucknell is going to advance to the national championships, it is going to have to post one of its top performances on Saturday. The Bison have sent three individuals (Julie Sweitzer, Theresa Davis, Leanna Nastase) and one team (1999) in program history to the NCAA meet. Nastase was the last to make an appearance, finishing 94th in 2006.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Jake Schroeder (York, Pa./York Suburban) claimed Bucknell's lone league honor this fall, earning a spot on the inaugural Academic All-Patriot League Team. The senior has a 3.70 cumulative GPA while majoring in both economics and German.
- Bucknell saw a little bit of a mix up in the lineup at the Patriot League Championships on Oct. 30. Dave Brown (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) led the team with a 23rd-place finish. It was the junior's first time at the front of the Bison's pack this season. Close behind was Joshua Clark (Vincentown, N.J./Seneca) and Robert Yamnicky (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) in 26th and 28th, respectively. Charles Murphy (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn) was 30th overall, while Evan Novakowski (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) was 33rd.
- The Bison took running as a pack to the extreme at the league meet. There were only 18 seconds between the Orange and Blue's first and fifth finishers and less than a minute between the first and seventh.
- Novakowski began his season as one of Bucknell's front runners before falling back in the pack mid-way through the season. The senior returned to his old ways at the league meet, however, scoring for the first time since the Duquesne Tri-Meet on Sept. 18.
- Bucknell will face a trio of nationally ranked squads when it competes at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on Saturday. Princeton is ranked first in the region and 17th in the country. Penn State is also 26th nationally, while Villanova is 29th.
- Although the Bison are no longer ranked in the Mid-Atlantic region, three other Patriot League schools are. Navy leads the group in fifth, but American is close behind in seventh. Lehigh just made its way into the group with a No. 15 ranking.
- When the Bison competed at the 2009 regional championships, hosted by Maryland Eastern Shore, they ended the day 11th out of 28 teams. Most of the top runners from that squad have since graduated, including Andrew Huebner who was 34th overall on the 10K course. Murphy was fourth on the team and 77th overall, making him the best-finishing Bison to return for another year.
- Bucknell made its first appearance at the national championships in 1976. Since then, the Bison have sent eight individuals and nine teams to the year-ending meet. The last Bucknellian to make a national appearance was Matt Forys, who placed 75th in 2006.
LOOKING AHEAD
Next week marks the end of the 2010 cross country season. The Bison will compete at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Bronx, N.Y. on Nov. 20. Should any of Bucknell's runners qualify for the NCAA Championships, that race will also be held on Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind.
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