Somerset, NJ -- For the third consecutive year, St. Francis (PA) was selected by league head coaches as the heavy favorite to win the 2005 men’s cross country championship. The Red Flash won five consecutive NEC titles before being dethroned last season by Quinnipiac, which was picked second in this year’s poll. The Red Flash received nine out of eleven first place votes, with the Bobcats receiving the two remaining first place votes. Robert Morris was chosen to finish third followed in order by Monmouth, Mount St. Mary’s, Long Island, Sacred Heart, Wagner, Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis (NY).

St. Francis (PA) will be led by one of the conference’s most accomplished distance runners in senior Ryan Sheehan (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin). Sheehan is a two-time NEC Most Outstanding Performer and has competed at the NCAA Championships twice during his career. Seniors Patrick Quinn (Glen Ellyn, IL/Saint Francis Prep) and Kyle Ridington (Malvern, PA/Marion Center), along with sophomore Michael Tilger (Collegeville, PA/Archbishop Carroll) are expected to join Sheehan as the core of the Red Flash team. In 2004, Quinn and Ridington finished fifth (26:15.7) and ninth (26:24.4), respectively, at the NEC Championships. For his seventh place finish (26:18.3), Tilger was tabbed NEC Rookie of the Year. With a year of collegiate experience under their belts, sophomores Nicholas Brousse (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle) and David Holliday (Stonington, CT/Ledyard) will give the Red Flash an extra boost.

Quinnipiac will look to defend its crown under the direction of reigning NEC Coach of the Year Ed O’Connor, as three of the team’s six all-conference performers return from 2004. Despite losing Thomas Martin, who brought home the conference’s individual title in 2004, the Bobcats return Jeff Roginielewicz (Derby, CT/Derby), who was only seconds behind Martin to cross the tape in second place (26:01.1) last year. Senior Greg Brink (Babylon, NY/Babylon) and sophomore Jacob Gurzler (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa) also are key returnees for the Bobcats. Brink was a sixth-place finisher (26:18.0) at the NEC Championships, improving from a 21st place finish the previous year. Gurzler, a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week last season, crossed the line in eighth place (26:22.5) in his inaugural meet.

The 2005 NEC Men’s Cross Country Championships will take place on Saturday, October 29 on the campus of St. Francis (PA). All eleven NEC schools compete in the championship event.