Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Cross Country Set for Finale at ECAC/IC4A Championships Saturday
11/19/2010 7:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 19, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell cross country has its sights set on one last meet in the 2010 season, traveling to Bronx, N.Y., for the ECAC and IC4A Championships on Saturday. The Bison will compete in the University Division races at Van Cortlandt Park, beginning with the women's five-kilometer race at 11:45 a.m. and the men's 8K race at 12:15 p.m.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- When Bucknell last competed, it placed 17th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships in University Park, Pa. Dave Brown (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) led the Bison for the second consecutive meet, taking 83rd individually on the 10K course. Just seconds behind were Charles Murphy (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn) and Robert Yamnicky (Shelton, Conn.).
- Much like the Patriot League Championships two weeks earlier, the Bison ran well as a pack. There were just a 33-second split between Brown and the team's fifth finisher, Evan Novakowski (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury).
- At both the Patriot League Championships and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, Brown, Joshua Clark (Vincentown, N.J./Seneca), Murphy, Novakowski and Yamnicky finished as the Bison's scorers. That marked the first time this season that the same five runners scored in more than one meet.
- Despite a fair amount of jostling around in the lineup, Yamnicky and Clark proved to be steady forces for the Orange and Blue. Both have scored in all but one of their races with Yamnicky missing the cut at the Bucknell Open and Clark falling just one place out of the top five at Duquesne.
- The last time Bucknell competed at the IC4A Championships in 2008, the team finished 11th in a field of 26 with New Hampshire taking the title. Among the Bison's leaders still on the squad were Christopher Boyd (Gaithersburg, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton) in 46th and Brown in 51st.
- Bucknell cross country does not have a traditional Senior Day like other sports, but that does not mean the team appreciates its veterans any less. The Bison men will graduate 12 seniors from the roster including Boyd, Clark, David D'Alessio (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest), Steve Levandusky (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn), Murphy, Novakowski, Justin O'Brien (Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain), Michael Ryan (Schenectady, N.Y./Niskayuna), Timothy Ryan (Schenectady, N.Y./Niskayuna), Jake Schroeder (York, Pa./York Suburban), Ian Shore (South Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) and Clayton Smith (Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII). That group has raced 57 times this fall and includes three team captains and eight Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selections.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Ranked seventh in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region poll, the Bucknell women's squad was hoping to pull off some upsets at the Mid-Atlantic Championships last weekend. They fell just short of their goal but still showed some consistency by placing seventh at the meet. Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) and Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) ran neck-and-neck, finishing 35th and 36th, respectively, both with a time of 21 minutes, 41 seconds.
- Moniz, Fulmer and Alysha Hooper (Meaford, Ontario/St. Mary's) solidified their position as three of the Bison's most consistent runners. The trio has gone 1-2-3 on the team in all six of their meets in 2010.
- A fourth veteran has been moving up the team's ranks of late. After being unable to place higher than ninth on the squad early in the season, Allison Donaghy (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) has claimed a spot in the varsity seven in each of the last three meets. That includes a team-best ninth place at the Lock Haven Invitational, which led to a Patriot League Player of the Week nod.
- When Bucknell raced at the ECAC Championships in 2008, the team placed seventh out of 23. Hooper was the top Bison finisher, placing 36th overall, while Melissa Smith (Mercer, Pa./Mercer Area) was third on the squad and 46th overall.
- Bucknell will graduate 10 seniors this year - Ashley Avilleira (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial), Brittany Beland (Bedford, Pa./Bedford Area), Alaina Chodoff (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East), Eileen Foley (Herndon, Va./Chantilly), Colleen Gavigan (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abingdon Heights), Alexa Griffiths (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua), Stephanie Hardenstine (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area), Moniz, Amanda Steinke (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and Lauren Wiemken (Howell, N.J./Howell). Members of the cohort have raced 32 times this fall, scoring on 11 occasions. They also have three All-Patriot League citations and 21 selections to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in their careers.
LOOKING AHEAD
With cross country season at an end following Saturday's meet, the Bison will be looking forward to indoor track and field season. Bucknell's indoor meet schedule begins with the Bison Opener on Dec. 4 in Gerhard Fieldhouse.
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