St Joseph’s University Cross Country at Van Cortlandt Park

Nancy and I traveled to New York City on Saturday (20th) to watch the St Joseph’s University’s (almost) last Cross Country meet for the season: the IC4A / ECAC (InterCollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) / (Eastern College Athletic conference) at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York.

It was a glorious day in the Bronx – what us spectators like to call an ideal day for running – once Nancy and I straightened out our GPS difficulties (oh, THAT right hand turn).

This was somewhat of a special trip for me, not only because our son John Eastman was running, but also because I yearned for years to run at Van Cortlandt Park.  Alas, in my rather brief running career, under the unforgettable tutelage of my high school coaches Connie Putnam in Cross Country and Nathan Hale in Track at Mohawk Trail Regional High School, I never got to run at Van Cortlandt Park.   So I looked forward to visiting the venue to watch the Hawks run with, the ECAC tells me, some 700 runners with 80 teams from 20 schools.

Team Results:

The St Joseph’s University Hawks placed 12th in the women’s Championship Race, and 18th in the men’s Championship Race.

Individual Results:

Women’s coaches’ Race
2nd place    Beth Lambright      19:25.3
6th place     Erin James            20:16.9
8th place     Laura Faller           20:18.5
10th place   Lyndsey Sample    20:28.9
11th place   Paige O’Neill          20:33.5
34th place   Darcy O’Connor      22:07.1

Men’s Coaches’ Race
24th place   David Evans           28:09.3
26th place   John Eastman        28:13.1
34th place   Drew Cogley          28:27.3
38th place   Sean Staltari         28:38.2
46th place   Greg Etter             29:14.4

Women’s championship Race
41st place     Maureen O’Donnell    18:46.2
43rd place     Hannah Fuller          18:48.4
65th place     Kelsey Rose            19:16.5
73rd place     Jessica Di Cicco       19:26.2
93rd place     Emily Chappell         20:07.7
107th place   Samantha Peters      20:56.5

Men’s Championship Race
68th place       Aaron Leskow         26:19.6
104th place     Mike Rankin            26:47.6
109th place     Kyle Gorczynski      26:55.4
118th place     Vinny Nicastro         27:00.1
132nd place    Dan Roark               27:17.6
136th place     Tom O’Kane            27:22.6
141st place     Kevin Donnelly         27:32.0
145th place     Vince Collins           27:41.0
146th place     Murphy O’Donnell     27:45.0
151st place     Ryan Birchmeier      28:03.7

[St Joseph’s University did not have runners in the women’s or men’s University Race.]

ECAC/IC4A CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS:

Women’s Coaches’ Race (5K)

Men’s Coaches’ Race (8K)

Women’s Championship Race (5K)

Men’s Championship Race (8K)

Women’s University Race (5K)

Men’s University Race (8K)

Be sure to visit the St Joseph’s University’s cross country websites (women’s,  men’s websites) for more information.

On an additional note, congratulations go out to St. Joseph’s University junior Kevin McDonnell on his qualification to and running in the 2010 NCAA Division I championships, which unless I am mistaken was THE last Cross Country meet for the season.  See the St Joseph’s University cross-country website for more information on Kevin’s McDonnell and the Nationals.

For the record: Let it be noted that Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, 6087 Broadway, Bronx, New York (Tel. 718 548.9020) right across the street from Van Cortlandt Park is pretty darn good.  Now I need to go for a run.