Cavalierrunnersfarewellin·Cabriniinvitational

by Chris Nielsen staff writer

The men's and women's cross country teams hosted the Cabrini Invitational at Belmont Plateau.

It was a perfect Saturday for running and despite strong competition, both teams lived up to the occasion.

The· defending Penn~vania Athletic Conference champion men's team finished in second place lead by team co-captain Jason Bull, who finished in sixth place with a time of 30:23.

He was followed closely by sophomore Dom Staino, a firstyear runner, first-year student Patrick Hutton and sophomores Jeff Fullem and Ryan Jones.

"We're coming along strong, but we haven't won anything yet, and it's not over until some fat lady starts singing," said Bull, referring to the PAC playoffs.

The Lady Cavaliers, who are the defending PAC champions as well, finished in third place behind a strong showing by sophomore Sabrina Smith.

Smith, who won the individual PAC championship last year, tied her own course record by turning in a time of W:02.

Other team members who finished strongly were sophomore Lauren Dean, who finished in second place with a time of 20:06, and fust-year student Kristen Zelinski, who finished in sixth place with a time of 21 :24.

After last weekend's success, Coach Tom O'Hora is cautiously optimistic about bis teams chances to repeat as PAC champions.

"The papers say that we are heavily favored, but we 're going to have to run faster than today." said O'Hora., "All season, both teams have been consistent."

According to O'Hora, the women's team has improved every week, despite not having senior runner Michelle McDevitt due to tennis commitments.

The men will have to work, but O'Hora said that they can win it too.

The men's team hopes to repeat as PAC champions despite having a very different team than a year ago when they won the PAC championships.

Only five runners from last year's defending championship squad have returned and two of them, sophomores Colin Broderick and Ricky Romyn, have had to deal with injuries.

Fortunately, the Cavaliers have received new runners in the form of Staino, Hutton and Fullem, who have all made immediate contributions to the team.

On the other side of the track, the women's team has lost only two runners from last year's squad, and they have grown in number and talent considerably.

Lead by sophomore captain Becky Jurich and sophomore sensations Smith and Dean, the team expects nothing less than to repeat as PAC champions.

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