PHILADELPHIA, PA - The University of Sciences in Philadelphia won its first-ever Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference womens cross country championship today at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia, PA. The Devils won the closest race in conference history as just three points separated the top three schools. The Devils tallied 63 points and were followed closely by Felician and defending champion Georgian Court with 65 and 66 points, respectively. The top-15 finishers were all named to the All-CACC team.
Senior Wendy Muckell of Nyack won the individual title for the second consecutive season, finishing the 5,000-meter course in 20:04.95. For her efforts, she was named CACC Runner of the Year. Sophomore Melissa Hale of Holy Family crossed the finish line in a time of 20:14.95 and was named CACC Rookie of the Year. The rest of the top-five was composed of sophomore Joy Aifuwa of USP (20:38.62), freshman Jessica Lappe of Philadelphia (20:54.50) and sophomore Amanda Scibetta of Felician (20:57.52).
Hayley Lentz was the second runner to finish for the champion Devils, crossing the line in ninth place with a personal best time of 21:26.19. She was followed by Shelby Rance in 14th place with a time of 21:49.75, also a personal best. USPs fourth and fifth finishers also recorded personal bests on the day. Maureen McNally finished in 25th place overall with a time of 22:53.80 while Dana Lulias was 29th overall with a time of 23:21.42.
At the conclusion of the meet, Bob Heller of USP was named CACC Coach of the Year and the Team Sportsmanship Award was given to Caldwell College. The head coaches conducted the voting for the awards.
NJIT and Philadelpha were not eligible for the team championship and thus their runners were not counted in the team results. Full results for the meet can be found at http://www.geocities.com/xcresults/.
TEAM STANDINGS
1.USP-3-7-12-19-22--63
2.Felician-4-11-15-17-18--65
3.Georgian Court-9-10-13-14-20--66
4.Nyack-1-6-16-28-33--84
5.Wilmington-5-8-23-31-46--113
6.Holy Family-2-24-30-39-50--145
7.Caldwell-29-35-38-43-44--189
8.Bloomfield-27-32-37-45-59--200
9.Goldey-Beacom-21-34-42-56-58--211
10.Dominican-48-53-54-55-60--270
2005 ALL-CACC TEAM
1. Wendy Muckell, Nyack, 20:04.95
2. Melissa Hale, Holy Family, 20:14.95
3. Joy Aifuwa, USP, 20:38.62
4. Jessica Lappe, Philadelphia, 20:54.50
5. Amanda Scibetta, Felician, 20:57.52
6. Kara Laufer, Philadelphia, 21:11.36
7. Janet OBrien, Wilmington, 21:17.29
8. Joleen Butterfield, Nyack, 21:24.82
9. Hayley Lentz, USP, 21:26.19
10. Jill Maxwell, Wilmington, 21:26.85
11. Kimberly Galvin, Georgian Court, 21:35.58
12. Katherine Czajkowski, GCU, 21:37.01
13. Melissa Barraquiero, Felician, 21:39.04
14. Shelby Rance, USP, 21:49.75
15. Adrianna Correa, Georgian Court, 21:57.94
RUNNER OF THE YEAR
Wendy Muckell, Nyack
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Melissa Hale, Holy Family
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bob Heller, USP
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Caldwell