The St. Thomas Aquinas cross country program traveled to Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY for the East Coast Conference Championship.  The Lady Spartans finished 2nd behind the strong performance of sophomore Katie O'Grady.  Led by freshman Asaad Jeffrey, the men finished 5th.  

Despite the cold temperatures, the Lady Spartans got out to a quick start.  Their early positioning as a pack helped them secure the second place finish.  O'Grady finished in 7th place in 18:44, just four seconds off the Spartan 5K record that she set earlier this season.  Freshman Kristen Borriello crossed the line just 11 seconds later in 10th place recording a collegiate best 18:55.  Classmate Angelica Matwiejczuk ran a personal best as well, clocking a 19:13, and finishing in 12th place.  Redshirt sophomore Meaghan Ventarola, who has been a consistent threat for the STAC team, was the Lady Spartans 4th finisher coming in at 19:16.  The final scorer, junior Gabriella Sloezen finished in 19:35.  The compression of these five runners, just 51 seconds, has been a key to the team in the 2014 season.  Graduate student Allison Borriello added another great performance finishing in 19:52.  Senior Gina Funaro's 20:11 and junior Cecelia Pfleging's 20:25 were other noteworthy performances that sealed the point margin.  Only Roberts Wesleyan, who is currently ranked 22nd in the nation, finishe ahead of the Lady Spartans.

"This team has stepped up at each race this season.  They race hard and smart and I am very poud of them," commented Head Coach Nicole Ballou. "We have different people stepping up each week which has been a big part of our success.  Every member of the team contributes in their own way and they are very deserving of their success."

While the men's team was hampered by injuries, Jeffrey stepped up to the task in leading the team.  The rookie finished in 27:23, which was good for 19th place.  This was the second time he finished first for the Spartans this season.  Senior Joseph Chegwidden was next in 24th place with a time of 27:52.  Sophomore Stephen McNiff ran the best race of his career.  He crossed the line in 28:35.  Calssmates Ryan Gasser and Jamer Linares were the next two STAC finishers in 29:20 and 29:57 respectively.  Three solid perfermances were recorded by sophomore Richard Cant (31:19), freshman Christian Diaz (31:21) and redshirt freshman Steven Paulus (31:33).

The STAC cross country team will return to action on Saturday, November 22nd and the NCAA DII East Region Championship.  The race will be held at South Nasha High School in Nashua, NH.

Complete ECC Release

Women's Results

Women's Team Results (Official)

Men's Results

Men's Team Results (Official)