At the 2011 ECC Cross Country Championships, sophomore Keeley Bateman and senior Sarah Callagy helped the women secure a 2nd place finish. Led by freshman Joe Chegwidden and sophomore Mike Galonski, the men's cross country team took 3rd place.
Bateman and Callagy established their positions in the front pack early in the race. Bateman, the Lady Spartan's first finisher, crossed the line in 19:19 in 3rd place. At 20:08 Callagy came through for a 9th place finish. Freshmen Catherine Sandkuhl (12th place) and Katelyn Garvey (16th place) ran a great race for STAC completing the 5K course in 20:33 and 21:17 respectively. A trio of seniors filled the next three spots and guaranteed the 2nd place team finish. Chelsea Klinger finished in 21:38 followed by Lisa Brevogel in 22:04 and Lauren Karpoich in 22:07. Junior Ashley Santa Teresa and freshman Ashley Weintraub worked together throughout the race finishing in 23:45 and 23:46.
"I am very proud of our women's team. They work extremely hard and deserve to be recognized as one of the top teams in the ECC. I give a lot of credit to our seniors who took ownership of this team as freshmen and have turned the program into a success. We are going to miss them next year, but they have set the bar high and I think our underclassmaen will do a great job as we move forward," commented 4th year head coach, Nicole Ballou. The women's race was very close from the start as both STAC and C.W. Post battled for good position. C.W Post took the team title with 56 points with the Spartans tallying a team total of 65. This 2nd place finish follows STAC's first ever ECC Cross Country Championship in the 2010 season.
After a 5th place finish in 2010, the men's squad wanted to make a statement. Even with the loss of two of their top three scorers to graduation, the 2011 team was ready for the challenge ahead of them. Chegwidden led the Spartans for the fourth consecutive race finishing in 9th place in a personal best 26:50. Galonski took 12th place in 27:18 followed by freshman Alex Andre who crossed the line in 28:16 (20th place). Sophomores Matt Buell (29:00) and Mike Kraus (29:23) were the final two scorers for STAC. At 31:27 sophomore Jon Laszlo competed the 8K course followed by classmate Chris McKenna. Senior Matt Muniz completed his final collegiate cross country race in 33:39 while Stephen Dietrich finished in 34:24.
"While this finish might have come as a surprise to our competition, I was very confident coming in to this race that the men would have a great day. Our team is very young, but we have a great deal of talent to work with. They push each other every day in practice and are always striving for excellece. I think this 3rd place finish is a sign of great things to come. The leadership that Matt Muniz, our only senior, has provided for us throughout the season has been instrumental in our succes and we will be looking for our sophomores to take on this role as we move forward," said Ballou. C.W. Post took the men's team title with 39 points followed by Molloy with 53 points. STAC finished in 3rd with 96 points.
The Spartan Cross Country Teams will return to action on Sunday, November 6th at the NCAA East Regional at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass.
Women's Team Results
Team Points
1. C.W. Post 56
2. St. Thomas Aquinas 65
3. Dowling 102
4. NYIT 105
5. Molloy 109
6. Queens 136
7. Bridgeport 158
8. District of Columbia 185
Men's Team Results
Team Points
1. C.W. Post 39
2. Molloy 53
3. St. Thomas Aquinas 96
4. Queens 99
5. Dowling 115
6. District of Columbia 140
7. NYIT 172
8. Bridgeport 201