Cross Country Picks up High Finishes

Both cross country teams turned in another strong performance at the Belmont Classic on Saturday. The women’s team placed third overall, while the men’s team finished in eighth place.

“We wish we had done better,” admitted Senior Captain Jenna Hackett. She cited the absence of senior Mary Shashaty competing in the meet as affecting their overall score.

 

The frontrunner for the women this meet was Hackett, finishing in seventh place with a time of 20:14;17. Strides behind her was freshman Katie Sacker, clocking in with a time of 20:38;88 for a ninth place finish. Sophomore Madeline Cronan and junior Remy Ball were Catholic’s next two over the line, with times of 20:51;41 and 21:27;88, respectively.

The Cardinals finished in third place overall with 81 points, just behind Ursinus College and Philadelphia College. They were the top DIII finisher at the meet.

While they do not have a meet for another two weeks, the women’s cross country team isn’t just standing around. Hackett said the team is going to run a Road Race Group this Saturday, giving the proceeds to charity.

The women’s team is also taking advantage of this free time to tackle a number of goals they have for upcoming meets. “We are going to work on staying within 30 seconds of each other after the first mile,” said Hackett. “We are also going to work on our speed and strength individually.”

One the men’s side, the team was led yet again by senior Paul Santuoso, finishing with a time of 28:30.01 in sixteenth place. Seconds later came junior Andrew Smith, crossing the line at 28:40.45. Sophomore Kris Reynolds was third for the Cardinals, clocking in at 29:29.36.

“My top three are experienced and dedicated athletes, and that is why they have been leading the team,” said Coach Mark Robinson. “And if they continue to improve, [it may] give us a chance to get into the high placing at the championships.”

Robinson is also counting on increasingly solid runs from Brian Norte, who he cited as showing rapid improvement this season. “We actually ran better than the 8th place finished even indicated,” said Robinson. “We finished second in this race last year, but I believe this team will be better at the end of the season than last year’s group.”

With two meets remaining before the Landmark Conference Championship, Robinson said the team is going to work on building their speed and strength. The men’s team is also focused on closing the gap in future races. “Our other goal is to try and get our #5 - #7 runners closer to the top four,” said Robinson. “We need whoever emerges as our #5 to not have the type of gaps we have had up until this point.”

The women’s team will be back in action at the Gettysburg Invitational on October 18th, while the men prepare to run at the Juniata Invitational on October 11.

Cross Country Finishes Strong in New York Invitational Meet

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams went the distance Saturday at the NYU Invitational. The women’s team finished the meet in second place, and the men’s team placed sixth overall.

Leading the Cardinals over the finish line for the third straight week was freshman Katie Sacker. Clocking in at 20:03, her time was less than a second behind the third place finisher, earning her fourth place overall. Senior captain Jenna Hackett also placed in the top ten for Catholic, clocking in at 20:38 for a ninth place finish.

Senior Mary Shashaty and junior Remy Ball finished the race as a pair, coming in thirteenth and fourteenth, respectively.

Racking up only 62 points, the Cardinals finished second overall, just behind Vassar College who scored 46.

Sacker attributed the team’s strong performance on Saturday to the strategies they work on at practices. “During practices, we think of strategies to stick together during the races,” said Sacker. In addition to pushing each other physically, Sacker admitted pushing each other mentally to be a key component to their success. “Everyone is very encouraging on the team. We don’t really compete against each other…we encourage each other,” said Sacker.

Yet while she finds herself fitting in with the team, her talent naturally has set her apart from the pack. After her consistently strong performance for the Cardinals, Sacker’s fresh talent was recognized when she was named ‘player of the week’ on Monday. “It’s really exciting and very rewarding,” said Sacker.

As for their upcoming meets, Sacker cited Susquehanna, Juniata and Moravian as the team’s greatest competitors in the conference this season.  

On the men’s side, senior Paul Santuoso was the frontrunner for Catholic yet again, running a 16:58 race that earned him a nineteenth place finish. Next over the line was junior Andrew Smith with a time of 17:28, followed immediately by sophomore Kris Reynolds who clocked in at 17:29.

Their overall performance earned Catholic 163 points, which translated to a sixth place finish out of 10 teams. Hosting team NYU dominated the meet, earning 26 points.

  “I think we are capable of much more than what we have done so far,” admitted head coach Mark Robinson.  ”But the team is right on track, and the top 3 [runners] in particular are progressing quite well.”

While Robinson cited Susquehanna, Scranton, Moravian and Juniata as the main competitors for Catholic, it’s still anyone’s race. “I think in general the meet is wide open this year,” said Robinson.  ”But we will get a better idea when we go up against the entire league on October 11.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete at the Belmont Classics in Philadelphia.

CUA Women’s Cross Country Picks up 2nd Place Finish at Washington & Lee

The men’s and women’s cross country team set out on their first run of the season this Saturday at the Washington & Lee Invitational. The women’s team placed 2nd out of 10 teams, and the men finished 6th out of 11 teams.

Highlights of the meet included senior Paul Santuoso leading the men’s team with a 10th place finish in the 8k open, running a time of 30:21.00. Finishing behind him was junior Andrew Smith in 19th with a time of 30:56.00. Smith was first team all-conference last season. Sophomore Kris Reynolds came in third for the men’s team, finishing 26 with a time of 31:29.00.

New talent was seen from freshman runners Brian Norte and George Brewer, who finished in the top 5 of Catholic’s team in their first race of the season.

After racking up 127 points, Catholic landed a 6 place finish.

The women’s front runner in the 6k open was freshman Katherine Sacker, finishing in 6th place with a time of 25:14.00. She was followed closely by senior Jenna Hackett in 8th, clocking in at 25:32.00. Freshman Christine McGowan finished in 12th with a time of 26:03.00.

The women’s performance was enough to earn them 64 points, and a 2nd place finish. “We did not know exactly what to expect for the first meet of the season,” says junior Bridgette Smith. “so we are pleased with how we did on Saturday.”

Among the teams they finished ahead of at the invitational, Smith cites beating Roanoke as a significant accomplishment for Catholic. “We were very happy to beat Roanoke this weekend, who has always been a strong team in our region.” The Lady Cards beat Roanoke by a slim 6 points.

While women’s team is currently suffering a few injuries, it does not shake the morale of the group this early in the season. “We are all very motivated for this season and have set high goals for ourselves,” says Smith. “We are really coming together as a team this year, which we believe will enhance our performance.”

Washington and Lee reaped the benefit of having home field advantage, finishing first on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are away at the NYU Invitational this Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Cross Country Seeks Steady Race

Both the Men and Women’s Cross Country teams start up their season this weekend and look to shock some of the preseason predictions in their second year in the Landmark Conference.

In the women’s league, Catholic holds the fourth spot after earning 46 points in the voting, just eight points behind Susquehanna University in a very tight race to begin the season. Juniata College has been picked to repeat atop the conference as selected in the preseason poll. Juniata stacked up 70 points, 11 ahead of the second-place team Moravian College.

CUA had three All-Conference performers in 2007, which was enough to help the Cardinals to a third-place conference finish. Senior Jenna Hackett is back after placing fourth at the Landmark Conference meet. The team did, however, lose two of its top-five runners, including an NCAA Championship qualifier. With the addition of eight freshmen, team unity is the biggest key for success this season, according to Hackett. “The freshmen are bringing a new energy to the team and I am looking forward to running with these girls,” she says. “I think we could shock some people early on in the season.”

As for the men, they are looking to bounce back after a disappointing season in the Landmark Conference. Catholic is predicted to finish in 7th place, ahead by a six-point margin over only the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
The Susquehanna University men’s team has been voted to repeat as champs in the Landmark preseason poll. Susquehanna, who won the Landmark Championship in 2007, piled up 68 points in the poll.

While Catholic may not be top pick in the preseason, they are certainly looking to turn some heads this season. Andrew Smith, CUA’s top finisher at the Landmark meet, returns along with each of the team’s point producers from the group that placed sixth last season at the Conference Championships.

The gun will sound for both the men and women’s team for the first time this season on Saturday at the Washington and Lee Invitational in Lexington, Virginia.