NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Rob Albano of Felician College and Sarah Simonetti of Philadelphia University have been named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Male and Female Runners of the Week on Oct. 10. Luis Romero of Bloomfield College and Sarah Bariglio of Holy Family University were chosen Male and Female Rookies of the Week.

Albano, a junior from Pompton Plains, N.J., has now either claimed or shared Runner of the Week honors for four consecutive weeks. He set a school and meet record at the Highlander Invitational hosted by NJIT, winning with an 8K time of 24:59. He led the Golden Falcons to a first place finish as a team. 

Simonetti, a senior from Perkasie, Pa., has earned Runner of the Week honors four times this season. She ran to a second place finish at the Jack St. Clair Invitational, crossing in a time of 23:10. She led the Lady Rams to a second place finish as a team. 

Romero, a freshman from Union City, N.J., ran in two meets last week, including a first place finish at the Goldey-Beacom Fall Classic, where he finished in 27:39. He also finished in ninth place at the Highlander Invitational, crossing in 26:05. 

Bariglio, a freshman from Vineland, N.J., placed first at the Goldey-Beacom Fall Classic in a time of 20:55, ten seconds ahead of the runner-up. 

Honorable Mention
Bill Steele, Wilmington (Jr., Conowingo, MD) - Placed 6th at the Jack St. Clair Memorial in 27:01.

 
Kip Kirui, Philadelphia (Jr., Rift Valley, Kenya) - Finished in 12th place at the Jack St. Clair Memorial, crossing in 28:11 as the second finisher from a CACC school.

 
Kristin Waters, USci (Jr., Syracuse, NY) - Finished in sixth place in 22:02 at the Goldey-Beacom Invitational to lead the Devils to a first place finish.  

CACC Cross Country Notes

Bloomfield - The Bloomfield’s men’s team ran to a second-place finish overall at the Goldey Beacom College Invitational Friday, the second time this season the Deacons have placed second in a meet.  Freshman sensation Luis Romero won his second consecutive meet, posting a time of 27:39 to give the rookie his fourth consecutive top-five finish.  Moses Rotich continued his breakout junior season with a 12th-place finish, crossing the finish line in a time of 30:01, while Steven Bowman placed 15th with a time of 30:10.  Devang Patel was the fourth Deacon to finish in the top 20, placing 18th with a time of 30:43, while Elson Smajlaj finished 38th with a time of 32:19. On the women’s side, freshman Catelin Perez (Union City, N.J.) continued her solid rookie season with a 13th place finish, crossing the finish line with a time of 23:20.  Senior Mercy Puma (Guttenberg, N.J.) followed in 19th place with a time of 24:21, while Bertina Beaubrun (Asbury Park, N.J.) placed just outside the top 20 in 21st place with a time of 24:30 to help the women’s team place fourth in the event.

Concordia - The Concordia men’s team placed two runners in the top 80 this past week at the 8th Annual Highlander Invitational.  The women placed one runner in the top 75 at the Highland Invitational. The teams will race again next on Sunday, October 19 at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, NY to participate in the York Invitational.

Felician - For the second consecutive week, junior Rob Albano broke his own 8K school record. This time, at the Highlander Invitational hosted by NJIT, he took advantage of a flat Branch Brook Park course to win the race with a 24:59, breaking the meet record by 21 seconds and the school mark by 41. Felician won the team title by 47 points over runner-up Stevens. It was the second championship this season for both the Golden Falcons and Albano. Every single member of the Felician men’s and women’s teams set a personal best on the day. Women’s frontrunner Alyssa Collier ran a 5K of 20:42, one of the ten fastest times in program history. Men’s no. 2 Taylor Trumbetti became the second man in Felician history to break 26 minutes with a 25:56.

Holy Family - Holy Family had another successful week as the men’s cross country team finished first overall at the Goldey-Beacom College Fall Classic. Sophomore David Richardson led the way as he finished second overall (28:22).  Holy Family had three runners finish in the top-ten including Richardson, senior Jeffery Kinkaid (4th - 28:47) and sophomore John Hill (9th - 29:52). On the women’s side, freshman Sarah Bariglio came through with her first-ever collegiate victory as she finished the race in a time of 20:55 to lead the Tigers to a third place team finish.  Senior Jennifer Schrank and sophomore Dominique Thomas each recorded a top-20 finish as Schrank finished 12th in a time of 23:09, while Thomas was 16th in a time of 23:48.

USciences - The women's cross country team finished first at the GBC Fall Classic, taking home the team title for the second consecutive year.   The women's first five finished 1:36 apart, their closest 1-5 gap all season. The USciences men finished fourth at the GBC Fall Classic, placing three runners in the top 15 overall.

Philadelphia - Philadelphia University took second place at the 2011 Jack Saint Clair Memorial Cross Country Meet. Senior Sarah Simonetti lead the charge by finishing 2nd overall in the race, while two of her teammates finished in the top ten overall. They included freshman Taylor Falvey (5th) followed by fellow senior Gabrielle Dei Tos (7th). For the men, Philadelphia took 4th place. Junior Alfred “Kip” Kirui finished 12th overall in the race while rookie teammate Tim Malloy (13th) was able to finish in the top twenty.