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Cross Country
2007 Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference Championships
at Kutztown University - North Campus Course
October 27, 2007 last updated
03/25/08
CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
Kutztown University to host 2007 PSAC
Cross Country Championships
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University
is the site for the 2007 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Cross Country Championships. The races will take place on Saturday,
Oct. 27, on KU’s North Campus Course.
The women’s
6,000-meter race starts at 10 a.m., followed by the men’s
8,000-meter race at 11 a.m. Admission is free, while parking and a
championship program will be $5 per car. Additional programs are $2
each.
Women’s Team Preview
Edinboro has been the
most dominant women’s team in PSAC cross country history, winning
the last nine championships and 15 overall crowns since the first
title was awarded in 1980. However, the Fighting Scots will likely
get a heavy dose of competition from Kutztown, which has spent the
bulk of the 2007 season as the highest ranked team in the East
Region, including a No. 11 designation in the Oct. 23 poll released
by the U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association.
In order to dethrone Edinboro,
Kutztown’s Joanna Horstmann, Stephanie Williams and Kristin
Cupido will have to match strategy with the ‘Boro’s Rachael Lanzel
and company if they are to be successful. Horstman and Williams
are returning All-PSAC performers.
Also waiting to pounce into the team title hunt is a
quality squad from Bloomsburg. The Huskies will have a good
chance to break into the fray with an experienced group of runners
who are ranked second in the region and No. 13 in Division II.
Three-time All-PSAC runner Amber Hackenberg and Beth Schwing, who
was 10th at PSACs and regionals in 2006, are among the
expected front runners.
Edinboro,
which historically has had great success in the post season, enters
the meet ranked third in the region and No. 14 in Division II. In
addition to Lanzel, last year’s individual champion, the Fighting
Scots will look for contributions from Becca Nungesser, Ashley
Ferraro and Kristine Beringer. The latter three earned All-PSAC
honors a year ago in helping Edinboro retain its championship
streak.
A group of four or
five other teams also have aspirations for top finishes. East
Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, Millersville and
Indiana (Pa.), with Clarion also in the mix, will all be
jockeying for position. Each team has a quality strength –
Millersville, Shippensburg, Clarion with stellar front runners,
while ESU and IUP have quality packs – but where each team’s No. 5
runner finishes may determine the order of finish. Slippery Rock
and Lock Haven have shown promise during the regular season,
but may be hampered in the team standings by a lack of depth.
Mansfield and
West Chester look to make noise in team races, with both
teams likely to need a standout race from their packs to move up in
the standings. California (Pa.) and Cheyney round out
the team competitors.
Individual Title
The race within the
race is for the individual title, and the battle of the day just
might be for the women’s individual crown. All-America runners
Erin Richard (Clarion) and Lanzel could go gun to wire
alongside each other in a show of elite athletes up front. Others
who could be in the mix if the door is opened up front are
Kutztown’s Williams and Horstmann, along with
Shippensburg freshman Abby Huber.
Men’s Team Preview
The 50th
championship season of PSAC men’s cross country will be marked
today. The celebration will be highlighted with an expected epic
battle between two of the top 10 teams in the country in Edinboro
and Slippery Rock.
Perennial power
Edinboro has come out on top more often than not, winning 25 of
the previous 49 championships. From 1984-2002, The Scots won a
whopping 18 of 19 titles. However, it has been Lock Haven
that has won the team title the past four years to derail the ‘Boro
train. This year Slippery Rock seeks its first crown since
1991, which marked the only blip on Edinboro’s impressive 19-year
run.
Led by Jeff Weiss
and Pat Reagan, Slippery Rock was ranked No. 5 in the nation
and first in the region in the Oct. 23 poll by the U.S. Track &
Field/Cross Country Coaches Association. Weiss, a two-time
All-American, is a past PSAC Champion, winning the title in 2005
before finishing second last fall.
In order to run with
the Rock’s leaders, Edinboro All-American Dave Niemera and
Josh Arthur will be truly tested. Edinboro was ranked ninth in
Division II and second in the region in the most recent polls. The
key will be which team can get its scoring five among the top 15 to
score less than 50 points.
Who will be the 2007
champion appears to be a two-way way battle, yet the competition for
the next several spots will be just as heated, with any of eight
teams batting for third place.
The four-time
defending champions from Lock Haven have some NCAA experience
on the squad in Brandon Pomerantz and Shawn More, and
will not give up the title defense without a fight.
East Stroudsburg
and Mansfield have the luxury of having national caliber
front runners in Iuri Pinto and Chris Cummings,
respectively, but both teams will need big efforts from their fourth
and fifth runners to be a factor in the team standings. West
Chester’s Tom Pearson has had an outstanding regular
season and if he parlays that success into the postseason, the
Golden Rams will have an addition to the top 10 individuals and help
propel the team to the upper echelon. Shippensburg has two of
its top three runners taking a medical redshirt, which will surely
limit the Red Raiders’ chances.
The Golden Bears of
Kutztown are looking for the home course advantage that may
move a talented group to a surprise finish. Bloomsburg and
Millersville will go as far as their packs can take them. If
either team gets all five in the top third of the event, they could
be pushing their way among the top of this group. California
(Pa.) has shown some promise during early October and could be a
team that may be moving toward a new high for the Vulcans.
Cheyney and
Indiana (Pa.) are in a rebuilding mode. Finishing in the top 10
for the Wolves or Crimson Hawks would be a starting point for their
futures.
Individual Title
Can anyone run with
Slippery Rock’s Jeff Weiss? That is the question for the
individual title. Those with the best chance are Mansfield’s
Cummings, East Stroudsburg’s Pinto and Edinboro’s
Niemira, as well as Weiss’ teammate Reagan. West
Chester’s Pearson, a senior, also would like to add an
individual title to his collegiate resume.
EDINBORO MEN POST 33 POINTS, EDGE OUT
SLIPPERY ROCK FOR PSAC TITLE
KUTZTOWN, Pa.
— The Edinboro men’s cross country team placed three of its
runners in the top five to slip past Slippery Rock and win its 26th
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship Saturday at
Kutztown University.
With 33 points,
Edinboro edged out Slippery Rock (41) in the 50th running of the
PSAC Championship. Slippery Rock’s Matt Bluman won the individual
title and race MVP with a time of 26:18. Dave Niemira, of Edinboro,
was the runner up at 26:21.
The KU men’s team
finished ninth with 220 points, ahead of Millersville, West Chester
and Indiana (Pa.)
Lock Haven, the
conference’s defending champion, finished third with 103, while
Shippensburg (132) and Bloomsburg (181) rounded out the top five.
East Stroudsburg (191) was sixth, ahead of Mansfield (195) and
California (Pa.), which scored a 217.
Patrick Bone
(sr. Doylestown/Central Bucks West) led the Golden Bears with
his 22nd-place finish at 27:28, ahead of teammate Tom Mooney (fr.
Churchville/Council Rock South), who was 27th at 27:46.
Matt Cocciardi (fr.
York/York Suburban) took 43rd at 28:22, while Kevin Rodgers (fr.
Clifton Heights/Upper Darby) was 63rd with a time of 28:55.
Three second behind him was Tim Ballingall (fr.
Downingtown/Downingtown East) in 65th.
Ben Loht (so.
Lewistown/Indian Valley) and John Pyne (jr. Harrisburg/Bishop
McDevitt) finished three seconds apart as well, with Loht taking
70th at 29:08. Pyne was 71st.
BLOOMSBURG ENDS EDINBORO'S NINE-YEAR
RUN, WINS PSAC TITLE
KUTZTOWN, Pa.
— The Kutztown University women’s cross country team struggled
Saturday, finishing fifth at the Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference Championship Saturday at Kutztown University.
Bloomsburg had four
runners finish will All-PSAC honors (top 20) to post 65 points and
claim the women’s PSAC Championship. Indiana (Pa.) finished second
with 99 points, just ahead of Edinboro (102) in the 6K race.
Edinboro streak of titles ended at nine with Saturday’s third-place
finish.
Erin Richard, of
Clarion University, won the individual championship and was named
the race’s MVP with her time of 23:02. Edinboro’s Rachael Lanzel was
the runner-up at 23:18.
The Kutztown women,
ranked No. 1 in the region, had 122 points. Stephanie Williams
(sr. Harrisburg/Riverside) and Joanna Horstmann (jr.
Downingtown/Downingtown West) earned All-PSAC honors, with
Williams finishing 10th in a time of 24:29 and Horstmann 14th at
24:33.
Hailey Dell (jr.
Saranac Lake, N.Y./Saranac Lake) finished 28th at 25:28.
Maureen Watson (so. Walnutport/Allentown Central Catholic) was
33rd with a time of 25:39 and Kristin Cupido (fr. Bridgewater,
N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan Reg.) was 10 seconds behind Watson in
37th place.
Jolene Collins
(so. Annville/Palmyra) and Kristin Green (jr. Camp Hill/Camp
Hill) rounded out the Golden Bears top seven.
Shippensburg (112),
Millersville (159), Clarion (168), East Stroudsburg (210) and Lock
Haven (213) complete the top 10 team finishes. West Chester,
Mansfield, California (Pa.) and Cheyney followed.
PHOTOS
   
Matt Bluman
Dave Niemira
Erin Richard
Rachael Lanzel
Slippery Rock
Edinboro
Clarion
Edinboro
Men's
PSAC Champion Men's runner-up
Women's PSAC Women's runner-up
Champion
2007 MEN'S CHAMPION - EDINBORO
2007 WOMEN'S CHAMPION - BLOOMSBURG
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