2008 Cross Country Recaps
November 24, 2008 - NCAA Championship
Representing Syracuse University for the first time in program history as a team, the No. 25 ranked women's cross country lineup finished in 28th out of 31 teams at the 2008 Division I Cross Country Championship on Monday afternoon. The Orange women were led by senior Nana Sang-Bender in her final race for SU.
Juniors Dan Busby and Brad Miller, SU's two male representatives at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course, ran individually and garnered an 83rd and a 127th place finish out of 252 men in the 10K.Sang-Bender, a 2008 All-BIG EAST and All-Northeast Regional member, finished up her prolific four-year with a time of 21:20 for 93rd place, bettering 159 other participants. The Syracuse, N.Y. product was named to the all-conference and all-region teams three times as a member of the Orange distance team.
Sophomore Catherine Desarle finished up strong second place showing for the Orange contingent with a time of 21:37 for 119th place. Junior Maegan Krifchin closed out the season in 21:45 for 137th. First-year harriers Lauren Penney and Lauryn MacFawn showed promise with their respective times of 21:49 and 21:59 for 145th and 164th, overall. Sophomore Rebekah MacKay navigated through the 6K course in 22:04 for a 170th place label while freshman Heather Stephens crossed the tape in 22:22 for 187th.
Out of the nine runners that ran for Syracuse, six of them were 2008 Division I Northeast Region USTFCCCA All-Region Team members. On the women's side, Sang-Bender, Krifchin, Mackay and Penney joined 21 other female student-athletes from the Northeast Region to complete the list. Miller and Busby also warranted a place the 25-man All-Region Team. For Busby, it was the third time he's been named to the Northeast All-Region Team.
Monday afternoon's race ended the 2008 collegiate cross country chase, but the distance runners will continue to compete for SU as the first indoor track and field meet is just weeks away. The Orange will enter the Cornell Relays in Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday, December 6, to initiate the 2008-09 track and field season.
November 15, 2008 - NCAA Regional Championship
For the first time in women's program history, Syracuse University's cross country team qualified as a whole for the NCAA Championship by finishing in second place, collectively, at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship Saturday afternoon.
The Orange was driven by senior Nana Sang-Bender's individual fourth-place finish of 21:35.6 in the 6K, figuring to be the highest placing a female SU distance runner has claimed in program history. Sang-Bender's performance was the key component in the Orange automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championship. The top two teams in each regional, nine in all, automatically earn a spot in the final race. There are 13 at-large teams that also can land a spot in the national championship race
The men's team finished in fifth place, overall, led by juniors Brad Miller and Dan Busby. Miller's ninth-place individual time of 32:01.2 in the first 10K race of the season was the fourth time in seven tries where Miller directed the rest of the Orange men. Busby tallied another SU top ten finish, claiming 10th by finishing up in 32:03.3.
The Orange was driven by senior Nana Sang-Bender's individual fourth-place finish of 21:35.6 in the 6K, figuring to be the highest placing a female SU distance runner has claimed in program history. Sang-Bender's performance was the key component in the Orange automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championship. The top two teams in each regional, nine in all, automatically earn a spot in the final race. There are 13 at-large teams that also can land a spot in the national championship race
The men's team finished in fifth place, overall, led by juniors Brad Miller and Dan Busby. Miller's ninth-place individual time of 32:01.2 in the first 10K race of the season was the fourth time in seven tries where Miller directed the rest of the Orange men. Busby tallied another SU top ten finish, claiming 10th by finishing up in 32:03.3.
Krifchin traversed Van Cortlandt Park in 22:06.6 for 17th place, overall. Penney proceeded to turn in a hard fought finish of 20th place by wrapping up in 22:12.6. Mackay's time of 22:15.5 figured to be two spots behind Penney's pace for 22nd. Freshman Lauryn MacFawn fashioned a time of 22:24.1 for 27th place to round out the Orange contingent.
Following up Miller and Busby's top-ten performances was promising newcomer Tito Medrano for a 38th place time of 33:08.1 Sophomore Steven Weeks concluded his first competitive 10K in orange by running for a 44th place time of 33:09.5. Freshman Pat Dupont's jaunt of 33:30.3 earned Syracuse a 60th individual placing.
October 31, 2008 - BIG EAST Championship
Junior Brad Miller directed the Syracuse men with a fourth-place individual finish in a time of 24:37 on the 8K trial while senior Nana Sang-Bender was the frontrunner for the Orange women, wrapping up her BIG EAST career with a 14th place finish in the 6K at 20:59. Both the men and women's teams concluded Friday's BIG EAST Championship in fifth place out of 14 and 16 teams, respectively, at Van Cortlandt Park on Oct. 31.
Sang-Bender's performance marks the third consecutive time she has led her team at the BIG EAST Championship. She becomes the first SU female since Alicia Hauber in 1982 and 1983 to earn all-conference honors in consecutive BIG EAST Championships in 2006 and 2007.
Junior Dan Busby provided the Orange with a 19th place finish of 25:08 while three freshmen furnished SU with times of 25:31, 25:39 and 25:50. Pat Dupont, Griff Graves and Steve Weeks picked up 33rd, 38th and 43rd place, in that order. Sophomores Stephen Murdock and Curtis Bixler turned in times of 25:59 and 26:20 for 50th and 65th place, correspondingly.
On the women's side, junior Maegan Krifchin continued her successful season with a 19th place run of 21:13, 14 second behind Sang-Bender's leading clip. Another medley of underclassmen represented Syracuse in remaining spots with freshman Heather Stephens leading the charge of first or second year harriers in 26th place with a measure of 21:16. Freshman Lauren Penney was clocked in 21:31 for 30th place while sophomore Catherine Desarle's stretch of 21:45 earned her a 40th place ranking. First-year runner Lauryn Macfawn and sophomores Rebekah Mackay and Katie Hursey concluded Friday's conference meet nine seconds within each other in 47th, 51st and 53rd place by breaking the tape in 22:00, 22:06 and 22:09, respectively.
Freshman Carly Hamond rounded out the Orange effort in 76th place with a spell of 22:54.
Sang-Bender's performance marks the third consecutive time she has led her team at the BIG EAST Championship. She becomes the first SU female since Alicia Hauber in 1982 and 1983 to earn all-conference honors in consecutive BIG EAST Championships in 2006 and 2007.
Junior Dan Busby provided the Orange with a 19th place finish of 25:08 while three freshmen furnished SU with times of 25:31, 25:39 and 25:50. Pat Dupont, Griff Graves and Steve Weeks picked up 33rd, 38th and 43rd place, in that order. Sophomores Stephen Murdock and Curtis Bixler turned in times of 25:59 and 26:20 for 50th and 65th place, correspondingly.
On the women's side, junior Maegan Krifchin continued her successful season with a 19th place run of 21:13, 14 second behind Sang-Bender's leading clip. Another medley of underclassmen represented Syracuse in remaining spots with freshman Heather Stephens leading the charge of first or second year harriers in 26th place with a measure of 21:16. Freshman Lauren Penney was clocked in 21:31 for 30th place while sophomore Catherine Desarle's stretch of 21:45 earned her a 40th place ranking. First-year runner Lauryn Macfawn and sophomores Rebekah Mackay and Katie Hursey concluded Friday's conference meet nine seconds within each other in 47th, 51st and 53rd place by breaking the tape in 22:00, 22:06 and 22:09, respectively.
Freshman Carly Hamond rounded out the Orange effort in 76th place with a spell of 22:54.
October 24, 2008 - John Reif Memorial
The Syracuse men and women's cross country teams dominated the local competition in the 22nd annual John Reif Memorial Run at the Moakley Course on Friday afternoon hosted by Cornell University.
Sophomore Katie Hursey emerged victorious in the women's 5K run, bolting past 54 other runners in a time of 18:44. Freshman Natalie Busby finished in second place with a clip of 19:05. Rounding out SU's top ten performers were sophomore Liz McCarter with a seventh-place time of 19:26 and junior Lisa Giacometti in ninth place with a pace of 19:45.
The remainder of the Orange women finished in the following order:
Junior Stefanie Slekis (13th – 19:51), Junior Lynne Mundy (20th – 20:19), Senior Emily Goncalves (25th – 20:43), Junior Katie Bower (26th – 20:46), Sophomore Jenna Bieri (28th – 20:48), Sophomore Tricia Wardwell (31st – 21:30), Senior Lindsey Morel (38th – 22:35)
The men responded in similar fashion as the women when freshman Forrest Misenti dominated the five-mile race in a winning-time of 26:15. Misenti competed as an unattached runner on Friday evening. Freshman Brady Becker came in 10 seconds behind Misenti for third place in 26:25. Freshman Zach Rivers, sophomore Erin Schrim and junior Anthony Socotch completed the Orange's top ten finishers. Rivers completed the run in 26:53 for seventh place, Schirm crossed the finish line in a ninth-place effort of 27:01 and Socotch claimed 10th place by running to the tune of 27:20.
Sophomore Mike Brocks burned though the five mile challenge in 27:34 for 11th place while senior Robbie Cary picked up 14th place, breaking the tape in 27:50. Junior Matt Martina concluded the race in 15th place with a time of 28:05 while sophomore Stephen Benedict fashioned a 16th place time of 28:06. Freshman Jeff Sweeney and sophomore Pat Murray claimed 20th and 21st place, respectively, finalizing their times at 28:36 and 28:55.
October 18, 2008 - Pre-Nationals
The 26th-ranked men's cross team and 30th-ranked women's distance runners tested the site of the NCAA Cross Country Championship Saturday afternoon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course hosted by Indiana State University. The women's distance runners competed in the White Race and placed 11th out of 39 teams with senior Nana Sang-Bender leading the charge for the Orange as a result of her team-leading time of 21:16. Sang-Bender, SU's leader for the women's efforts at last year's Pre-Nationals race, finished in 44th place out of 281 individuals in the 6K. The Orange men claimed 15th place out of 41 teams in the Blue Race at the Pre-Nationals event while junior Brad Miller powered Syracuse for the second straight competition. Miller placed 17th out of 276 runners with a time of 24:02 in the 8K trial. Two weeks ago at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa., Miller directed SU with a fifth-place finish of 23:58.Junior Jay Koloseus followed up Miller's feat with a 40th place time of 24:21 whereas former BIG EAST Athlete of the Week junior Dan Busby finished out his day with a beat of 25:05 for 120th place. Sophomore Steven Weeks ran in his second race of the season for the Orange, earning 130th place in a time of 25:08. Freshmen Tito Medrano and Griff Graves rounded out the Orange contingent with times of 25:23 and 25:42, respectively, for 160th and 198th. Junior Maegan Krifchin, SU's strongest runner in the previous two races, produced a time of 21:40 for 76th place. Freshman Heather Stephens and sophomore Catherine Desarle crossed the tape together in 21:45 for 83rd and 84th place, in that order. Sophomore Lauren MacKay concluded the 6K in 21:47 for 88th place and freshman Lauren Penney secured 90th place in 21:49. Junior Stefanie Slekis completed her third race of 2008 in 23:27 for 229th.
October 3, 2008 - Paul Short Invitational
The Syracuse men and women’s cross country teams finished up their third run of the season at the 35th annual Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University on Friday afternoon. Led by junior Brad Miller’s fifth-place individual finish of 23:58, the 30th ranked men’s squad picked up second place out of 45 teams. The women claimed fifth-place out of 43 teams as junior Maegan Krifchin led the Orange for the second race in a row with a 19th place time of 20:54.
Former BIG EAST Athlete of the Week junior Dan Busby crossed the tape behind Miller for eighth-place in 24:02. Junior Jay Koloseus looped the 8k track for 12th place in 24:07 while senior Jeff Scull closed out his day in 24th with a time of 24:23. Freshman Tito Medrano (24:41), sophomore Steve Murdock (24:50) and freshman Griff Graves (25:24) collected concluded the race in 47th, 62nd, and 124th, in that order.
Senior Nana Sang-Bender wrapped up just two seconds behind Krifchin in 20:56 for 20th place. Freshmen Heather Stephens and Lauren Penney 32nd and 39th place times in 21:15 and 21:26 while sophomore Catherine Desarle finished in 40th and crossed in 21:27. Junior Stefanie Skekis closed out the 6k run in 21:39 for 56th place while sophomore Katie Hursey rounded out the Orange line-up in 70th with a time of 21:51.
The Orange ventures back to Pennsylvania in a couple weeks when both the men’s and women’s teams run against top competition at the National Open in State College, Pa. on Friday, Oct. 17. On Saturday, the 18th, Syracuse will get an early crack at tackling the terrain in Terre Haute, Ind. at the Pre-Nationals.
September 13, 2008 - Harry Lang Invitational
The Syracuse men’s and women’s cross country teams swept the competition with first-place finishes at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational hosted by Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 13. The Orange men and women have claimed the top spots the last two weeks in each of their respective races.
The men’s harriers dominated the field, led by junior Dan Busby’s first-place performance of 25:58 on the 5.2 mile course. In addition to Busby’s top finish, the Orange turned in a perfect 15 points, sweeping the remaining top five slots.
SU’s women were directed by junior Maegan Krifchin’s second-place effort of 21:39. The women’s race was conducted on a 6K challenge.
Following Busby’s strong performance was sophomore James Murdock in second-place with a clip of 26:04. The Orange’s next four runners finished within four second of each other as junior Jay Koloseus crossed the line in 26:22 for third-place, freshman Tito Medrano was clocked at a fourth-place time of 26:24 and junior Griff Graves earned SU fifth-place points in 26:25. Junior Brad Miller closed out the men’s top six sweep in 26:26. Junior Curtis Bixler, last week’s individual champion at the Harry Lang Invitational, finished 15th on Saturday with a time of 26:47.
Following up on Krifchin’s Orange-leading act was senior Nana Sang-Bender who finished in third-place in 21:48. Freshman Lauren Penney broke the tape in 22:05 for a sixth-place finish while junior Stefanie Slekis’ pace of 22:17 produced ninth-place points for the Orange. Sophomore Catherine DeSarle was SU’s fifth runner in the top ten, finishing the 6K course in 22:23 for 10th place. Freshman Heather Stephens and sophomore Rebekah McKay finished 12th and 13th, respectively, with times of 22:31 and 22:32.
The Syracuse men’s and women’s cross country teams swept the competition with first-place finishes at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational hosted by Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 13. The Orange men and women have claimed the top spots the last two weeks in each of their respective races.
The men’s harriers dominated the field, led by junior Dan Busby’s first-place performance of 25:58 on the 5.2 mile course. In addition to Busby’s top finish, the Orange turned in a perfect 15 points, sweeping the remaining top five slots.
SU’s women were directed by junior Maegan Krifchin’s second-place effort of 21:39. The women’s race was conducted on a 6K challenge.
Following Busby’s strong performance was sophomore James Murdock in second-place with a clip of 26:04. The Orange’s next four runners finished within four second of each other as junior Jay Koloseus crossed the line in 26:22 for third-place, freshman Tito Medrano was clocked at a fourth-place time of 26:24 and junior Griff Graves earned SU fifth-place points in 26:25. Junior Brad Miller closed out the men’s top six sweep in 26:26. Junior Curtis Bixler, last week’s individual champion at the Harry Lang Invitational, finished 15th on Saturday with a time of 26:47.
Following up on Krifchin’s Orange-leading act was senior Nana Sang-Bender who finished in third-place in 21:48. Freshman Lauren Penney broke the tape in 22:05 for a sixth-place finish while junior Stefanie Slekis’ pace of 22:17 produced ninth-place points for the Orange. Sophomore Catherine DeSarle was SU’s fifth runner in the top ten, finishing the 6K course in 22:23 for 10th place. Freshman Heather Stephens and sophomore Rebekah McKay finished 12th and 13th, respectively, with times of 22:31 and 22:32.
September 6, 2008 - Harry Lang Invitational
The Syracuse men's and women's "B" cross country teams dominated the competition at the Harry Lang Invitational hosted by Colgate University. SU claimed the top three individual spots and placed four in the top five in each of their respective races. Team wise, the Orange placed 25 points ahead of its nearest competitor, Colgate, while the women clipped the Raiders by 11 points.
The Syracuse men's and women's "B" cross country teams dominated the competition at the Harry Lang Invitational hosted by Colgate University. SU claimed the top three individual spots and placed four in the top five in each of their respective races. Team wise, the Orange placed 25 points ahead of its nearest competitor, Colgate, while the women clipped the Raiders by 11 points.
The Orange was spearheaded by junior Curtis Bixler and freshman Lauryn MacFawn, as the two SU harriers turned in times of 19:05.00 and 17:00.00, respectively. The men trekked a 6K course while the women rounded a 4,200-meter loop.
For the men's 6K run, the results are as follows: SYRACUSE (19 points – First place), Colgate (44 points – Second place), Delhi College (76 points – Third place), Nazareth College (96 points – Fourth place), Mohawk Valley (107 points – Fifth place) and St. Bonaventure (125 points – sixth place).
The women's 4,200-meter results are as follows: SYRACUSE (22 points – First place), Colgate (33 points – Second place), Nazareth College (75 points – Third place), Mohawk Valley (86 points – Fourth place), St. Bonaventure (118 points - Fifth place), Delhi (135 points – Sixth place) and Herkimer (161 points – Seventh place).
The Syracuse men's and women's cross country teams return to action next Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational in University Park, Pa.
