Behrend Lions Country Teams Win 2007 AMCC Championships
Penn
State Behrend men's and women's cross country teams dominated the course on
Saturday, October 27, winning the 2007 AMCC Championship hosted by Hilbert College in
Hamburg, New York.
"It was a great win for our programs," said head coach Greg Cooper. "To win both championships in the same season is something we have never done before as a cross country program. Both teams did it with style and class."
The championships marked the men's second and the women's third title in Behrend
cross country history.
The men had a stellar performance, with five runners finishing in the top
nine spots and seven earning All-AMCC honors. Sophomore sensation Kevin Gorny (Erie/McDowell)
paced the pack of Behrend Lions runners and finished in first place overall for the men with
a time of 27:51.
Gorny took over the race with about two miles to go, and never looked back.
"It was awesome to watch," said coach Cooper. "He had a plan, and he
executed it."
Other top ten finishers for Behrend included freshman Tyler Lyon
(Washington/Trinity) who finished fourth overall, freshman Steve Monie
(Butler/Butler) who finished fifth, and senior Andy Marshall (Brunswick,
OH/Brunswick) who came sixth place overall. Andy Iams (Harrison
City/Penn Trafford) and Bob Cizek (Pittsburgh/Shaler) finished in eighth and
ninth place respectively, while teammate Matt Alto (Uniontown, OH/Archbishop
Hoban) placed tenth overall and also earned all-conference honors. The men competed among ten teams and won the
event with 24 points, while Frostburg State finished a distance second with
37 points.
The women's race
started off the day setting a great tone as Behrend placed six women in the
top 10 spots. Junior runner Jenny Bailey (Corry/Corry) was the top runner for the Behrend
women. She finished second overall with a time of 24:22. The women
also had a squad of top ten finishers to help boost them to victory.
Freshman Emily Berry (Reno/Rocky Grove) rounded out in the fourth spot
overall, while Liz Keller (Olean, NY/Bradford) finished in sixth place.
Senior Lisa Brozewicz (Wattsburg/Seneca), Mallory Souleret
(Pittsburgh/Baldwin) and
Alex Falvo all ran
excellent races in order to seal the win.
Looking
forward, in two weeks we will travel to Lehigh University for the NCAA
Mid-East Regional meet on Saturday, November 10.
The men have made it their goal all season long to finish in the top 10, and that seams very possible with the way they ran this weekend. "Our top runners should contend for All-Region team honors, and our freshmen should contend for the All-Freshman Region team," according to coach Cooper. In addition, those who have a GPA of 3.5 or above and finish in the top 25% will be eligible for Academic All-American honors.
"For the women, we have run better and better every week," continued Cooper. "I look at this as an opportunity to get some individual accolades as well as some team recognition."
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