Nov. 2, 2003

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) -- The American University men's and women's cross country teams dominated the 2003 Patriot League Cross Country Championships to win their second consecutive League title. The League meet was held today at the Metzgar Field Course on Lafayette College's campus.

On the men's side, the Eagles captured their second Patriot League cross country trophy in as many years with 26 points. In their first season competing in the League, the Navy Midshipmen finished a distant second with 50 points, while Army came in third with 79 tallies. Rounding out the team standings in the five-mile race were Bucknell (98), Lehigh (123), Colgate (155), Holy Cross (207) and Lafayette (239).

American junior Pat MacAdie was tabbed the Patriot League Cross Country Runner of the Meet after breaking the tape with a time of 25:18.80. MacAdie was one of five Eagles to claim first-team All-League honors with a Top 10 finish. Senior Matt Seymour was the second AU runner to cross the finish line in fourth place with a mark of 25:41.50. Junior Sean Duffy led a trio of Eagles across the line in sixth-place (25:43.70). He was followed closely by sophomore Phil Gaeta (7th - 25:44.80) and junior Danny Maurer (8th - 25:45.40). Junior Pat Burford was the final point-getter for the Eagles in 15th spot with a time of 26:01.60.

First-team All-League honors also went to Army's Eric Heeley (25:33.60), who was the Black Knights' top point-getter with a second-place finish, and Phil Sakala (5th - 25:43.10). Navy's Eric Eckstrand, who crossed the finish line in the third spot with a mark of 25:41.90, and 10th-place finisher Barry Carmody (25:51.80) also gained all-star recognition, while Bucknell's Greg Costello finished ninth with a time of 25:48.30 to earn all-star honors for the second time in his career.

Second-team all-star accolades were awarded to the 11th-20th place finishers. Those honorees include Navy student-athletes Andrew Rose (11th), Joshua Sink (12th) and Erik Schmidt (14th), as well as Colgate's Xavier de Boissezon, who was 13th. Rounding out the list of second-teamers are Rob Hampson of Lehigh in 16th spot, Bucknell's Dan Lounsbury (17th) and Wes Reinhardt (19th) as well as Holy Cross' John Nieskens (18th) and Army's Paul Strozier (20th).

The women's meet saw American win back-to-back titles in a rout with 30 points. Army was the runner-up on the women's side with 57 points, followed by Navy (63) and Bucknell (82). Lehigh (152), Lafayette (171), Colgate (186) and Holy Cross (200) rounded out the list of team competitors.

The American attack was led by Patriot League Women's Runner of the Meet Keira Carlstrom, who led a 1-2-3 Eagle finish. Carlstrom's time of 20:02.80 was 43 seconds quicker than runner-up and teammate Kelley Taylor (20:45.60). Senior Jen Baclawski was the third runner across the finish line with a 21:00.80 mark. Junior Whitney McNees improved on her 2002 outing with a sixth-place performance this season (21:08.60). The final point-getter for AU was sophomore Zaia Wharton, who came in 18th.

The second-place Black Knights were led by first-team all-stars Ashley Urick, who crossed the line in the fourth spot with a time of 21:02.20, and seventh-place finisher Ann Lee Cole (21:21.10). Army also lays claim to a pair of second-team all-stars in junior Stephanie Richardson (11th - 21:40.60) and sophomore Lindsey Hankins (12th - 21:41.90).

A pair of Navy runners, a Mountain Hawk and a Bison round out the list of first-team All-League performers. Freshman Emily Castro was Navy's top finisher in the fifth spot with a time of 21:06.60 and classmate Allison Barlow collected 10th-place honors (21:39.10). Lehigh junior Andrea Luebbe was the lone all-star for LU in eighth-place (21:34.90), while Bucknell junior Katie Pfeifer gained first-team honors with a ninth-place outing.

Second-team All-League status was awarded to the Navy duo of Erin Demchko (13th) and Stephanie Patterson (14th) as well as Holy Cross junior Kate Thornton (17th) and Lafayette junior Devon Landers (19th). Bucknell had a League-best three second-team all-stars led by freshman Lauren Bricker in 15th-place and sophomore Jamie Gow in the 16th spot. The other BU second-teamer was sophomore Kayla Halloran in 20th.

Women's Complete Results in PDF Format
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Men's Final Results in PDF Format
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