Cross Country Teams Set for PL Championships
October 30, 2015 | Women's Cross Country
Patriot League Championship Central
The Boston University men’s and women’s cross country teams will compete at the Patriot League Championships on Saturday at Colgate. The men’s race is scheduled for 11 a.m., followed by the women’s meet at 12 p.m.
BU will be on the hunt for its third straight conference crown on the women’s side, as the Terriers have won the title each of the two seasons it has been in the Patriot League. The men’s team is in search of its first conference championship since 2010.
In addition to the conference championship, BU and Holy Cross will also be competing for two points towards the Turnpike Trophy, Over the summer, the athletic directors of both schools announced the creation of the all-sports Turnpike Trophy competition where a point is up for grabs in each Patriot League competition featuring the Terriers and Crusaders. BU holds an early 3-0 advantage after field hockey, men’s soccer and women's soccer prevailed in October. A point will be earned by whichever school finishes highest in each meet.
A trio of seniors - Kevin Thomas, Alec Olson and Paul Gennaro – has led the Terrier men to a successful season in 2015, highlighted by the team’s first New England championship since 1993. Thomas was third at that event, with Olson finishing ninth and Gennaro crossing the line in 19th. All three harriers have also shown success at the conference’s track & field meets.
“The seniors are doing very well,” Lehane said. “Kevin, Alec, Paul and Syian Srikumar have all done a great job. Alec has won the steeplechase at the conference meet, Kevin has won the 5K and 3K, and Paul has placed well in the 10K and 5K. They have a history of performing well at conference meets. I know they’re very focused on this weekend.”
Along with his top-five finish at New Englands, Thomas has finished in the top 25 in his three other races this season. He took 15th at last year’s championship event and will look to improve upon that performance on Saturday.
“Kevin is the team leader,” Lehane said. “He’s an outgoing, social guy. He’s better on the track but he’s made a real commitment to running a strong cross country season for us. I think the guys key off of him a good amount.”
Freshman Alexander Seal has shined in his rookie campaign. A native of Australia, Seal has been named Patriot League Rookie of the Week once this season and has two top-20 finishes to his name.
“Alex is doing surprisingly well for a freshman,” Lehane said. “He’s the proverbial blue chip, but you never know what shade of blue you’re going to get when these guys show up. Alex has fit in very well. He’s coming from Australia, and that’s a long haul in terms of culture change and a whole new athletic environment. Especially when you bring in the team component, which is less emphasized in track & field in other countries.”
“He’s come into the team setting and really flourished with that,” Lehane said. “He’s quite talented, and he’s still only 18, so you can’t expect much, but he’s hanging in there. At New Englands, he ran a bit too aggressively and it probably hurt him. It’s a five-mile grind and you’ve got to bring it home those last couple of miles.”
Olson led BU with a 12th-place finish at the 2014 Patriot League Championship, with Gennaro (27th) and junior Matti Groll (48th) also putting in top-50 performances. Srikumar and junior Ethan Homan also have previous experience at the conference championship.
The women’s team was predicted to finish second by the league’s coaches and sports information directors in the preseason poll. The two-time defending champions return two of their five scorers from last year’s squad and will have to rely on three newcomers to help carry the load.
“We have a lot freshmen,” Lehane said, “and that will make it challenging. I think our athletes will do a good job and run well for themselves. Our goal will be to win, but in previous years we had the luxury of having front-runners, and this year it will be more of a group effort.”
Two top-20 finishers from last year will be back, as senior Shelby Stableford (9th) and junior Hallie Armstrong (20th) will lead a young squad at Colgate. Senior Erin Pierce also has PL Championship experience, having raced at the 2013 meet.
“It’s a matter of who is going to have a good day, and what we need is for everybody to have a good day,” Lehane said. “Our returning kids have been doing a good job, but I think they have another gear in them. The ones that have been surprising me the most in terms of almost performing better than you would anticipate have been the freshmen.”
One freshman that has raced well has been Courtney Breiner. She enters the weekend having placed ninth at the CCSU Mini Meet on Oct. 23. Breiner also has a 14th-place performance under her belt, and finished in the top 50 at the New England Championships.
Should the women retain their title, they will have to likely contend with preseason favorite Bucknell and Navy. The men were tabbed to finish third in the preseason poll, with Navy the favorite and Army also expected to fare well.
Projected Lineup - Men
1. Tom Cunningham
2. Daniel Erickson
3. Paul Gennaro
4. Matti Groll
5. Ethan Homan
6. Alec Olson
7. Alexander Seal
8. Syian Srikumar
9. Kevin Thomas
Projected Lineup - Women
1. Hallie Armstrong
2. Dominique Betterbed
3. Courtney Breiner
4. Gabrielle DiRenzo
5. Jamie Grossman
6. Cara Moyer
7. Erin Pierce
8. Shelby Stableford
9. Leora Tofler
10. Colleen Tretheway
11. Elin Wolker
12. Alexia Zawadzke
