Oct. 16, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Meghan Lutz and Nick Crits were the top Explorer finishers as the La Salle cross country team competed at the Brooks Pre-National Invitational at Indiana State on Saturday.
The Explorer men finished 28th as a team and the women 23rd in one of the cross country season's elite events. The top eight men's teams and seven of the top eight women's teams being ranked in the national top 30 poll. No. 5 Georgetown took the team title on the women's side while No. 16 Oklahome won the men's title.
Lutz clocked a 21:37.3 on the 6K course to finish 75th overall out of 274 runners. Stephanie Bearish and Caitlin Storbeck also turned in top 100 finishes, as Bearish ran a 21:45.5 for 88th and Storbeck posted a 21:48.1 for 93rd.
Also running were Wendy Hutchinson (152; 22:18.2), Samantha Gallagher (154; 22:19.8), Michelle Capozzi (187; 22:34.0) and Anne Areias (205; 22:46.3).
Crits led the Explorer men by finishing in 101st out of 241 runners with a time of 25:03.8. Dave Hausherr ran a 25:11.2 for 114th and Sean Ward rounded out the Explorer top three with a 25:35.1 for 151st.
Also running were Joe Beveridge (172; 25:49.5), Tom Pannulla (180; 25:54.2), Alfredo Santana (220; 26:41.2) and Nico Greco (237; 28:10.1).
Several Explorers also competed at the Leopard Invitational at Lafayette on Saturday. Alex Brazinski led the men to second place as a team while the women finished fifth behind Alyssa Mullen and Colleen Boland's top 15 finishes.
Brazinski finished the 8K course in 26:25.80 for 11th place out of 110 runners. Michael DeStefano was just behind in 13th with a time of 26:29.00. Three more Explorers posted top 25 finishes as Ryan Topita (26:55.10), Mike Bowden (26:56.10) and Rob Ricketts (27:02.30) went 22-23-24.
Mullen led the Explorer women with a 14th place finish out of 78 runners as she finished the 6K course in 22:55.90. Boland was just behind in 15th with a time of 22:56.80. Nicole Schiavone was the third Explorer as she clocked a 23:43.10 for 33rd. Jessica DiVenere (37th; 23:57.60) and Karen Wojciechowski (42nd; 24:12.20) rounded out the top five.
