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NEW HAVEN, CT - Rob Albano of Felician College and Sarah Simonetti of Philadelphia University have picked up Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) men's and women's runner of the week accolades for the week ending Sunday, Sept. 27. Bill Steele of Wilmington University and Justine Berger of Georgian Court University were tabbed Rookies of the Week.

Albano, a freshman from Pompton Plains, NJ, was the individual champion at the Philadelphia Metro Championships, crossing the finish line in 26:21.83 on the Belmont Plateau 8k course. He won the race by 13 seconds to lead Felician to a second place finish.

Simonetti, a sophomore from Perkasie, PA, won the Philadelphia Metro Championship with a 5k time of 19:26.68, which was 28 seconds faster than her nearest competitor. She led the Lady Rams to a team championship.

Steele, a freshman from Conowingo, MD, placed third at the Salisbury Invitational, crossing in 25:47 to lead the Wildcats to a second place finish.

Berger, a freshman from Middletown, NJ, was the third finisher among CACC runners at the Philadelphia Metro Championship, placing fourth in 20:00.90. She led GCU to a second place finish.

Honorable Mention

Shawn D'Andrea, Philadelphia (Sr., Blackwood, NJ) - Finished second at the Philadelphia Metro meet in 26:34.

Fred Tuwei, Holy Family (Jr., Nairobi, Kenya) - Ran a time of 27:03 to place third at the Philadelphia Metro Championship.

Anjelica DiNucci, Philadelphia (So., Baltimore, MD) - Placed second at the Philadelphia Metro Championships in 19:54.

Danielle Burcham, Wilmington (Sr., Bel Air, MD) - Broke school 6k record (22:26) to place fourth at Salisbury.

CACC Notes

Bloomfield - The men's team finished second at the Osprey Invitational with several runners posting their best finishes of the year. Freshman Moses Rotich finished 15th, while sophomore Kevin Quiroz placed 18th to post their best performances of the season.

Felician - Freshman Rob Albano earned his first career individual victory, winning Saturday's Philly Metro Invite with the second-best 8K time in Felician history, 26:21. Classmate Taylor Trumbetti was the Golden Falcons' No. 2 man for the first time.

Goldey-Beacom - Ben Kinley ran the third fastest 8k time in school history at the Stevens Tech Invite on Saturday.

Holy Family - The Holy Family men's cross-country team took seventh place at the Philly Metro Meet on Saturday. Fred Tuwei was the Tigers' top finisher with a time of 27:30.80. He came in third overall in the event. Jeff Kinkajd added a 21st place finish with a time of 28:51.78. Holy Family will take part in the Belmont Classic on Saturday, October 3. The Holy Family women finished in 11th place at the Philly Metro Meet. Molly Finnegan paced the team with a career-best time of 21:50.25. Holy Family will compete at the Belmont Classic on Saturday, October 3.

Philadelphia - The Philadelphia men's cross country team had an excellent showing this week, taking first place in the Philly Metro Invitational. Senior Shawn D'Andrea (Blackwood, NJ/Paul VI) came in second at the invitational while fellow senior Andrew Piotrowski (Warminster, PA/William Tennant) placed fourth. Also placing in the top ten for the Rams was sophomore Tyler Dye (Hanover, PA/Delone Catholic) who came in fifth place, senior Kirk Tencate (Wayne, NJ/ Wayne Valley) finishing ninth and Kip Kirui (Rift Valley, Kenya/Kilgoris) finishing in tenth. The Lady Rams had a strong performance this weekend, winning the Philly Metro Championship with sophomore Sarah Simonetti (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) taking first place overall and fellow sophomore Anjelica DiNucci (Baltimore, MD/Dulaney) finishing right behind her in second. Other top performers were senior Faith Anderson (Dover, PA/Dover Area) in 12th, sophomore Gabrielle Dei Tos (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) finishing in 13th, and junior Kaitlin O'Leary (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) placing in 15th. The Lady's will be back in action at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University (10/2).

USP - The USP men recorded their best finish ever in their 30-year history of competing at the Philadelphia Metro Meet, placing third amongst the 18 schools competing. Six of the Devils' top nine runners recorded personal best 8K times in Saturday's race, including four of USP's top seven runners. The Devils top seven finishers all crossed the line in less than 30 minutes- the first time in program history that a men's cross country team performed this accomplishment. USP was amongst five CACC schools competing at the race on Saturday. The men's team was third amongst the five teams, behind team champion Philadelphia University and 2nd place Felician College. On the women's side, USP recorded its best finish at the Philadelphia Metro meet in 20 years, fourth place. Their fourth place finish was their best since a third place effort in 1989. Four of the top six finishers set personal best 5K marks in the race, including USP's top finisher Kristin Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, NY) (21:30.37). The Devils' top five runners were closely packed for the third consecutive race, with a 1-5 gap of 0:59.04. USP was amongst seven CACC schools competing at the race on Saturday, finishing third, behind meet champion Philadelphia and 2nd place Georgian Court. Waters was amongst the top 15 CACC finishers in the race (12th) and the fourth CACC freshman to cross the line.

Wilmington - The Wilmington men placed its top two runners under 26 minutes, and the next three runners under 27 minutes in earning 2nd place at the Don Cathcart Invitational at Salisbury. On the women's side, senior Danielle Burcham broke the school record for fastest 6k time at the invitational.