College Cross Country

Rider at Paul Short Run

BETHLEHEM, PA-The Broncs competed in the 37^th Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University Friday. "The men competed very, very well," said Rider head coach Bob Hamer. "The women's finish was a bit disappointing. I thought we'd run a little bit better."

The men's team placed fifth of 46 teams in the College Brown Race. The women's team was 16^th among the 44 teams in the College Brown Race.  Iona finished first in both races.  "The men had a great result but we still need to get better," Hamer said.

In the women's College Brown race senior Heather Giovagnoli (Royersford, PA/Spring Ford) covered the 6,000m course in 22:30 to finish 17^th overall. "Heather ran really well," Hamer said. "She's doing a great job for us this season."

In the men's College Brown race, freshman Anthony Dentino (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) again finished first among the Broncs, 14^th overall, covering the 8,000m course in 26:05.

"Anthony is a big-time runner and he really wanted to prove himself in a big-time race like this today," Hamer said. "He went out and did a great job. He moved well throughout the race. Every race he is learning something and he's getting better and better. By the end of the season he's going to be where we want him to be."

Senior Michael Lindner (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central), back from injuries that kept him out of the first two races this season, placed second among Broncs and 34^th overall among the 382 runners in 26:23.  "We got Lindner back in the line-up today and he did a fantastic job," Hamer said. "I'm really excited for him. He worked really hard and got a great result today."

"I thought the race went pretty well today," said Lindner, who was Rider's top finisher at the Mid Atlantic Regional last year, "being my first race back. Coach Hamer told me to just go out and mix it up with our top two guys and test the body. That's what I did."

Lindner suffered an achilles injury in July and after almost a month off came back and strained his calf.  "It's been a battle," Lindner said. "Today I felt fine and was able to pass about 100 guys throughout the race."

Junior Sean Donohue (Cliffwood Beach, NJ/Matawan) was 60^th, finishing in 26:41. Freshman Nasser Zayer (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) was 77^th in 26:53, junior Sean McCullough (Plymouth Meeting, PA/La Salle) was 137^th in 27:18, junior Greg Wesh (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) finished 234^th in 28:16 and sophomore Billy Hackmeister (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) was 240^th in 28:18.

Also for the Rider women, junior Jillian Shutt (Lawrenceville, PA/Williamson) placed second among Broncs, 72^nd overall among the 385 runners, in 23:34. "The problem was there was almost a full minute gap after Heather," Hamer said. That is something we need to work on."

Freshman Emily Ritter (Milsboro, DE/Sussex Tech) placed 83^rd in 23:45. "Emily ran really well," Hamer said.

Senior Kelli Kaelin (Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands Regional) was 137^th in 24:13.  "Kelli stepped up and had a great race today," Hamer said. "Hopefully that will do wonders for her confidence and springboard her into better things the rest of the season."

Senior Kristen Perrine (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) was 140^th in 24:13, junior Erin Fitzgibbons (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville) was 162^nd in 24:28 and junior Nicole Tassello (Suffern, NY/Suffern) was 180^th in 24:35.

In the Men's Open 8,000 meter race, junior Kurt Morrison (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) placed first among the Broncs, 100^th among the 370 collegiate runners, in 27:45.

A pair of Villanova runners were the first two collegiate runners to cross the finish line and placed sixth and seventh overall, respectively, among the 452 runners in the Open.

Also for Rider in the Men's Open, sophomore Corey O'Neill (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) was 114^th in 27:52, freshman Ariel Caceres (Union City) was 166^th in 28:23, senior David South (Sergeantsville, NJ/Hunterdon Central) placed 210^th in 28:55, freshman Dylan Hallahan (Wrightstown, NJ/Northern Burlington Regional) was 228^th in 29:11, sophomore Matt Sampson (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) was 233^rd in 29:17 and sophomore Anton Pokras (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) was 273^rd in 29:57, freshman Nick Bencivenga (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) was 278^th in 30:02 and freshman Luke Harper (Rahway) was 304^th in 30:37.

In the Women's Open 6,000 meter race, sophomore Katie Williams (Franklin, NJ/Wallkill Valley) placed 191^st among the 307 collegiate runners, finishing in 26:13.

A runner from Mount Olive finished first among the collegiate runners, third overall among the 341 female runners in the Open.

Also for Rider in the Women's Open, sophomore Gabrielle Randell (Warwick, NY/Warwick) placed 281^st in 29:07.

The Broncs compete again October 14 at the Penn State National meet. "We're excited to go there," Hamer said. "It is always a very challenging meet. The athletes get excited for this race. It will be top notch competition that will toughen us up for the conference championship and the regional meet."

"Penn State is a tough course with a demanding field, with top 25 ranked teams," Lindner said. "I just want to go there feeling good and hopefully do well."

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