Oct. 30, 2009
PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men’s and women’s cross country teams look to make a splash at Saturday’s Atlantic 10 Championship, held at Forrest Park in St. Louis, MO, starting at 11:00 AM ET. Both squads were predicted to finish fifth in the very competitive league race during preseason voting.
The men’s 8K race is slated for 11:00 AM ET, with the women’s 5K to follow at 11:45. Complete results will be available right here on GoExplorers.com as well as on the Atlantic 10’s official website, www.atlantic10.com.
The majority of Atlantic 10 squads face a tough challenge on Saturday – not only is the league extremely competitive, but most of the 14 schools have never run on the Forrest Park course. 2009 marks the first year that the cross country championship has headed out to St. Louis.
The Explorer men, fifth place finishers in last year’s championship, are led by NCAA All-District and Atlantic 10 All-Conference runner Trevon Rainford. Rainford earned all-conference honors in 2007 for his fourth place overall finish, and was the second Explorer to cross the finish line in 2008 with a top 25 outing. He ran to a 23rd place finish in the 2008 NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional meet to earn All-District honors. So far in 2009, Rainford has clocked a season-best time of 24:41 in the 8K race at Lehigh’s Paul Short Invitational.
Also leading the way for the Explorers is sophomore Tyler Jones. Jones made an impact in the Atlantic 10 last season as he was the second rookie to cross the finish line in the 2008 championship, one spot behind teammate Nick Crits. He had two Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week nods in 2008 as well. This season, Jones ran a best 24:13 at the Paul Short Invitational, and also finished fourth individually at the Boston University Invitational with a time of 25:12.
Crits also looks to capitalize off of his 2008 Rookie of the Year performance. He finished 27th in the individual standings last year with a time of 25:04.90, and has a season-best 25:01 at this year’s Paul Short Invitational.
The Explorer men also have new talent hoping to lift the team on Saturday. Freshman Joe Beveridge has earned two Rookie of the Week honors for his performances at the Boston University Invitational and the Paul Short race. His season-best time was at the Paul Short, where he clocked a 25:14.
The Explorers will contend with strong competition on Saturday, as all five of last year’s top five is back this season. Charlotte’s Adu Dentamo was last year’s individual champion, barely missing the 23 minute mark (24:01). Richmond’s Matt Llano, Dayton’s Chris Lemon, Richmond’s Andrew Benford and Dayton’s Mike Andersen rounded out last year’s top five, and all are back in 2009.
In the team standings, the Explorers will look to get by Massachusetts, the defending conference champion and this year’s pick to repeat. Richmond was predicted to finish second. Duquesne, which was last year’s runner-up by the slimmest of margins, was picked third. Dayton and the Explorers round out the top five predictions.
The Explorer women were also predicted to finish fifth in the league standings, after a disappointing 11th place showing in 2008. Caitlin Storbeck looks to lead the team this year and rebound from last year’s mid-race injury that took her out of the race. Storbeck came in third place individually at the Boston University Invitational with a 5K time of 18:32. Her season best 6K was a 21:37 at the Paul Short Invitational. As a freshman last season, she was the top Explorer to cross the finish line at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional meet with a 6K time of 23:18.
Classmate Samantha Gallagher also looks for a strong race on Saturday. Gallagher has consistently been one of the Explorers’ top runners this year, and was the third Explorer in last year’s Atlantic 10 Championship. She ran a 19:49.20 in last year’s championship race, and has clocked an even better time since then with an 18:50 in the 5K at the Boston University Invitational in September.
The Explorer freshmen are led by Meghan Lutz and Meghan McGlinchey, who have run consistently together all season and have scored in each meet. They ran identical 18:38’s in the 5K at the Boston University Invitational and identical 21:45’s in the 6K at the Paul Short Invite, as they were the second and third Explorers in both meets.
The Atlantic 10 is filled with talent in the women’s race, as four of last year’s top five runners were only sophomores in 2008. Back for her junior season is 2008 individual champion Amanda Goetschius of Charlotte, who ran the third-fastest time in conference championship history. Runner-up Megan Hogan of George Washington looks to upend Goetschius for GW’s first-ever individual title after finishing just two seconds behind. Richmond’s Nicol Traynor, last year’s bronze medalist, is also back for her junior year. Teammate Katrina Spratford returns for her sophomore season after earning Most Outstanding Rookie honors in 2008.
The Explorer women have deep opponents to contend with, as Richmond is predicted to run away with the title again this year after having three of the top 10 runners last year. Charlotte was picked second, and Dayton looks to capitalize on a program-best third place finish led by junior Maureen Bulgrin. Duquesne and the Explorers round out the top five predictions.
Stay tuned to GoExplorers.com for complete results of Saturday’s races.
