November 4, 2008
Well, October was an eventful month for our Cross Country Teams.
We started off on October 3rd by competing in the prestigious
Paul Short Run at Lehigh
University, where we stepped to the line with some 40 other
colleges from around the country. Still hampered by injuries, the
men's squad struggled in the team standings, but had notable
individual performances by Pete Gratien (116th; 28:06) and Raph
Kpoecky (184th; 29:20). For the women, illnesses hurt our team
score, but they got the chance to run the 6K distance. Gina
Micaroni (27th: 22:50) and Kelsey Ryan (45th; 23:19) ran very well
in a competitive field of 260 runners.
On October 11th, we hosted the College of St Rose in a dual meet on the Le Moyne Campus course. Gina and Kelsey finished first and second (19:57, 20:22) and Alycia Hall (7th; 21:52) Chelsea Gibson (8th; 21:59) and Kate Brondum (10th; 22:17) ran inspired and with determination. But in the final tally, we fell short in the team score 27 to 28. The men looked forward the return of Jake McAndrew. Jake led the race for the first two miles, but then the pain and soreness returned, and unfortunately, Jake was unable to finish the race. Pete ran head-to-head with the St Rose leaders till the last run down Woodchip Hill, when he fell. He finished 3rd (28:47) and was then off to get stitches. Raph and Chuck Deragon finished 8th and 9th, both with the time of 30:57. St Rose bested the men by a score of 18 to 47.
The Gold Wave honored our seniors this day as Peter Gratien,
Kelsey Ryan and Alycia Hall ran their last races on the Le Moyne
campus. It was great to see so many alumni return to campus to
support these athletes, and to receive e-mails from so many others
who would have liked to have been able to attend. Your notes of
encouragement were appreciated by all. We had a wonderful lunch for
all our athletes and families. Thanks to all the parents and
families who contributed to this day, and a special thanks to Mrs.
Gibson and Mr. Carroll for their coordination and organization of
this day.
The NE-10 Championships were held at St Michael's on October 25th. Despite the fact that several men set PR's, the men's team result was disappointing. We look to finish the season with a good race from everyone at the Regionals. The women, however, ran well and surprised the conference. Gina set a school record for the St Mikes course finishing in 7th place in a time of 18:50. Kelsey finished 1oth in 19:11. Chelsea (48th; 20:34) and Alycia (51st; 20:37) also had strong races. Ashley Myers (103rd; 22:23) stepped up for her ailing teammates and came thru with a great personal run and was key in helping the team to a 5th place finish. Gina was recognized as a 1st team all-conference member and Kelsey was 2nd team all-conference.
On Sunday, November 9th, we will run in the NCAA East Regionals at Franklin Park in Boston. The men run at 1:30, and the women run at 2:45. Please come out and support the teams.
Hi XC Fans,
Our XC teams competed in the National Catholic School Championship on Friday, October 20 at Notre Dame. Thirty-five teams from around the country took to the starting line. Our men's team finished in 29th place overall and 19th out of 23 teams in the non-division I standings. The women finished 20th overall and 11th out of 24 schools in the non-division I competition.
Freshman, Gina Micaroni was the top finisher for Le Moyne finishing in 34th place with a school record time of 19:09 for the Notre Dame course. Kelsey Ryan was our next runner, placing 60th with a time of 19:35. These were PR's for both of these women. In the non-division I placing, Gina finished 6th and Kelsey was 18th. Gina was also the top freshman finisher in the non D-I division. Chelsea Gibson (142/69; 21:04), Alycia Hall (180/98; 21:40) and Kate Brondum (182/100; 21:45) completed the scoring for the Dolphins.
For the men, Pete Gratien paced the way Le Moyne finishing in 89th place overall and 36th in non-division I with a time of 27:39 for the 5 mile layout. Raph Kopecy (182/109; 29:30), Charlie Deragon (215/140; 30:34), Mike Notar (243/164:31:45) and Josh Graves (256/177; 34:06) were the other Dolphin scorers. Jake McAndrew continues to suffer from some shin pain and was held out of the race for precautionary reasons.
This was a great experience for our athletes as they get to see and run against teams they may never see again. For some of our athletes, it was also their first experience traveling this far west and they were surprised to see the farmlands, and the vastness of the flatlands of Ohio and Indiana. Aside from their running experience, there will be memories of touring the ND campus, 10 hour bus rides and lots of laughter and fun.
Both teams are off next weekend, and will return to action on Friday October 3rd in the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University.
On October 11, we will be hosting St Rose in a dual meet on our campus course. We would love to have alumni and supporters come out and cheer us on, and to recognize our senior athletes who will be running in their last home meet.
Gerry Mahon
Le Moyne Cross Country Head Coach
