Stony Brook Nation had a lot to celebrate about this weekend as the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams both had top 10 finishers. Alex Felce took top honors in the 8K as the Seawolves hosted the America East Cross Country Championships.
The air was cool and brisk, but the runners had ice in their veins, with the Men’s team placing four runners in the top ten and the Women’s team placing five. Alex Felce, the sophomore from Gloucestershire, England, took home the top honors in the Men’s competition, finishing first in a field of seventy-three runners, with a time of 25:32.0, five seconds ahead of the closest runner from rival New Hampshire. The run was impressive, marked with determination and grit, and the outcome came as no surprise. Coach Andrew Ronan called Felce’s performance, “a thing of brilliance.” Finishing third in the run behind his fellow Seawolves runner was Shawn Krawitz, a senior from Auckland, New Zealand. Krawitz finished the 8K at a mark of 25:42.3. Rounding out the top five was freshman Tim Hodge, followed later by Zach Tyerman, who came in ninth.
For the second consecutive year, Stony Brook has finished in second place with 37 to New Hampshire, edged out by two points. Heart and determination has led this team this far in the season; the team has run itself into the ground, with second place being the fruits of their labor. The team has captured a very proud honor, being very consistent the entire season. Coach Ronan was extremely proud of his team’s effort, calling it “outstanding.”
The Women’s Cross Country Team took no prisoners, finishing first in the Women’s America East Championship. Not only is this the first championship for this group of young runners, but also the first time ever that a Stony Brook Women’s Cross Country team has won a conference championship. The team beat out the rival Boston College Eagles by an impressive margin of twenty-eight points.
Jessica Hampson, proving time and again that she is a force to be reckoned with on the trails, came in fourth with a time of 17:58.3. The sophomore finished in the top ten with her fellow teammates freshman Holly Van Dalen, senior Elizabeth Carlson, sophomore Laura Huet, and freshman Lucy Van Dalen. Right behind them were seniors Kerry Salzano and Dana Hastie.
Coach Ronan had this to say about his team, “I’m proud of this squad and their individual accomplishments within the framework of the team. This team has been consistent from the start. Our captains have been true leaders and inspirational models for the entire team.”
Next up for the Seawolves are the 2007 NCAA Regional Cross Country Championships, on Nov. 10 in Boston, Massachusetts.
