BOSTON, MA - The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) enjoyed its best ever showing at a NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Meet at the 2008 East Regional in Boston on Sunday, Nov. 9. Conference teams earned top-10 finishes for the first time and individuals also provided a first as two runners earned All-Region accolades. 

The Philadelphia University women's squad earned the best finish in a regional in CACC history by placing sixth out of 31 teams with 172 points. Freshman Sarah Simonetti became the first runner in conference history to earn All-Region honors by placing 13^th in a time of 23:43.60 on the 6k course. Less than a second later, another CACC runner earned All-Region honors as Wilmington junior Danielle Burcham finished in 14^th place in 23:43.90.

The other four Lady Ram runners all finished among the top 50 in a field of 166 competitors. Junior Faith Anderson was 31^st in 24:29.10, freshman Madalyn Trout placed 46^th in 24:51.80 and freshman Gabrielle Dei Tos and sophomore Kaitlin O'Leary crossed in 48^th and 49^th place, respectively, both with a time of 24:52.50.

Georgian Court also posted a top-10 finish by placing eighth with 245 points. Senior Julienne Reilly narrowly missed All-Region honors by placing 19^th in 23:56.00. The top 15 runners in each race were named All-Region. Fellow senior Kim Galvin crossed in 43rd place in a time of 24:47.70 and sophomore Jennifer Musumeci finished 55^th with a 25:06.00 clocking. Sophomore Krystal Belcher finished in 74^th place (25:33.70) and junior Emilia Lopez crossed in 77^th place (25:38.50).

Other top performances by CACC runners includ Nyack sophomore Sharon Fetters, who completed the course in 24:40.40 to place 39^th, while Wilmington junior Mary Kate McCaffery crossed the finish line in 45^th place in a time of 24:52.00.

On the men's side, Felician and Philadelphia earned the CACC's first top-10 finishes by placing eighth and 10^th, respectively. Felician scored 239 points and Philadelphia tallied 265.

Philadelphia junior Shawn D'Andrea was the top CACC runner, as he narrowly missed All-Region honors with a 17^th place finish with a 10k time of 32:25.20. Five other runners placed among the top 50 in a field of 167, including Felician freshman James Vander Wiele, who finished in 22^nd place in 32:47.80. Wilmington's Rodney Rosario was next in 34^th place in 33:42.10 and Holy Family sophomore Fred Tuwei was right behind him in 36^th place in 33:49.10. Felician's Jay Rodgers completed the course in 33:53.20 for a 39^th place finish, while Philadelphia's Kirk Tencate crossed in 34:18.40, which was good for 49^th place.

In addition to Vander Wiele and Rodgers, the five scorers for the Golden Falcons were senior Alex Wright in 52^nd place (34:26.60), junior Brad Schepise in 55^th place (34:32.20) and sophomore Chris Harvey in the 75^th spot (35:07.00).

The final three scorers for the Rams all finished within 10 seconds of each other, as junior David Snyder placed 65^th (34:49.60), sophomore Schneider Eliassaint was 68^th (34:55.40) and junior Andrew Piotrowski crossed in 70^th place (34:58.40).

The top 10 teams in each race are included below.  

Men

1. UMass-Lowell - 43

2. Stonehill - 54

3. Southern Connecticut - 64

4. Adelphi - 154

5. Saint Rose - 193

6. Bentley - 194

7. Merrimack - 218

8. Felician - 239

9. NYIT - 253

10. Philadelphia - 265

 

Women

1. UMass-Lowell - 46

2. Stonehill - 56

3. Adelphi - 71

4. Bentley - 148

5. Saint Rose - 153

6. Philadelphia - 172

7. Saint Anselm - 215

8. Georgian Court - 245

9. Merrimack - 280

9. Le Moyne - 280