Nov. 15, 2007

Stony Brook, N.Y. - As I write this update, it is just sinking in that our women's team is the 2007 America East Cross Country Champion for the first time and also the first women's team to win an America East title in any sport for Stony Brook. That Saturday was not only a great day for the women, but for our men's team as well. Alex Felce, who captured the men's individual title, led the way for the team that fell short of the championship by just two points.

Simply put, it was an exciting day for our program. We hosted the event at our terrific new site at the Research and Development Park on Stony Brook Road and a great crowd came out to take in all of the action, including some former Stony Brook cross country standouts. It was wonderful to have former America East Champions Jackie Nunez '04 and Leonora Joy '06 present along with teammate Lauren Gengo '06 to witness what they started and helped come to fruition.

The women went about capturing the team title with great purpose, running as a group through the midway point of the race before making the final moves to win the title. Led by Jessica Hampson '10 (Smithtown, N.Y.) in fourth place, our remaining scorers were Holly Van Dalen '11 (Wanganul, New Zealand) who placed seventh, Elizabeth Carlson '08 (Lincoln, R.I.) who finished eighth, Laura Huet '10 (Carrickmines, Ireland) who placed ninth and Lucy van Dalen '11 (Wanganul, New Zealand) who took 10th. We produced a team score of 38 which bested the second place Boston University Terriers by 28 points. The student-athletes who scored up front received tremendous support from the other members of the team. Kerry Salzano '08 (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished in 11th place, Dana Hastie '08 (Wellington, New Zealand) (13th), Jackie Kehoe '10 (Katonah, N.Y.) in (17th) and Carolina Cortes rounded out the team effort in 27th spot. At the awards ceremony, it was a very happy and emotional moment when team captains Dana Hastie, Elizabeth Carlson and Kerry Salzano received the championship trophy. Memories of all the student-athletes that had gone through the program over the last seven years came flooding back, as they were the ones paved the way for this special moment.

It was hard to come up with words to console our men's team who finished second by such a small margin. They were fantastic as they took the race to New Hampshire and made them earn it. Alex Felce '10 (Stroud, England) was brilliant in the way he executed his victory while Shaun Krawitz '08 (Auckland, New Zealand) was close behind in the third spot. Tim Hodge '11 (Tawa, New Zealand) was very even taking fifth place and then Zach Tyerman '08 (Seattle, Wash.) produced the run of the day finishing in ninth as he broke into the top 10 for the first time. Daire Bermingham '10 (Portmarnock, Ireland) rounded out the scoring five as he crossed in 19th place. The remaining members of the team were Kevin McCarthy '08 (Nanuet, N.Y.) who finished 40th, Kurt Wende '10 (Williamsville, N.Y.) who took 44th and freshman Alex Varone `11 (Providence, R.I.) in the 45th spot. The team can be very proud of the effort as they are developing the consistency that produces championships. For them, a championship cannot be far away.

The only thing that could possibly compare to a conference championship would be qualifying for the NCAA championships for the first time in program history. Last weekend, we did just that as we finished second overall at the Northeast Regional in Boston, Mass. Senior Dana Hastie '08 (Wellington, New Zealand) carried the team to the NCAAs by finishing 14th out of 254 runners. The team will compete at the NCAA championships at Indiana State University on November 19.

As the holidays approach, I wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season. Go Seawolves!

Andy Ronan
Head Coach, Men's and Women's Cross Country