Conference

Pittsburgh, PA -- St. Francis (PA) became the third school in NEC history to pull off a sweep at the NEC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, winning both races in impressive fashion at Saturday's meet held in blustery weather at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, PA.  The Red Flash women put forth a dominating performance, finishing 70 points ahead of runner-up Sacred Heart.  Wagner's Karina Acevedo (Staten Island, NY/Middletown) took individual honors and earned the NEC Outstanding Performer award, clocking in at 18:27 over the 5K course.  Mount St. Mary's also captured both the men's and women's races in 1995 and 1996.

After losing by just three points to 2000 champion Monmouth, the St. Francis (PA) women’s team cruised to victory under first-year head coach Scott Catone, who led the Red Flash women to their first title since 1997.  The Red Flash were led by senior Beth Pile (Davidsville, PA/Conemaugh Township), who finished in second place, six seconds behind Acevedo.  Each of the top six runners in the women’s championship represented a different NEC school.

Catone picked up NEC Coach of the Year honors, while NEC Freshman of the Year accolades went to Sacred Heart’s Laura Beach (Curryville, PA/ Central), who finished in 12th place in 19:06.

PL TEAM               POINTS  PLACES OF FINISHERS        AVG. TIME SPREAD
1  Saint Francis (PA)    45   2    7   10   12   14  21  26  18:57    38
2  Sacred Heart         115   3   20   29   31   32  33  40  19:24  1:09
3  Central Conn State   119   5    8   19   24   63  72      19:42  3:13
4  Quinnipiac           122  11   13   22   37   39  52  56  19:32  1:00
4  Wagner College       122   1   17   28   34   42  43  46  19:27  1:43
6  Monmouth             136   9   15   27   41   44  49  50  19:38  1:17
7  Mount St. Mary's     144   4   25   30   38   47  65  68  19:40  1:38
8  Robert Morris        162   6   16   35   51   54  60  67  19:53  2:04
9  U M B C              210  23   36   45   48   58  61  62  20:15  1:44
10 Fairleigh Dickinson  305  18   57   73   78   79  80      23:49  7:52
11 Long Island          323  53   59   66   69   76  77  81  22:28  4:36
12 Saint Francis (NY)   334  55   64   70   71   74  75      22:43  4:00


Women's Cross Country All-Conference Performers (Top-14 Finishers)

       TEAM
PLACE SCORE  FINISHER                TIME   PACE  TEAM
   1     1   Karina Acevedo, Jr      18:27  5:57  Wagner
   2     2   Beth Pile, Sr           18:33  5:59  Saint Francis (PA)
   3     3   Katherine Wrinkle, So   18:35  5:59  Sacred Heart
   4     4   Kari McCarty, Jr        18:44  6:03  Mount St. Mary's
   5     5   Kimberly Crowley, Jr    18:48  6:04  Central Conn. State
   6     6   Erin Ehman, So          18:49  6:04  Robert Morris
   7     7   Janel Strittmatter, Sr  18:53  6:05  Saint Francis (PA)
   8     8   Shannon Lindberg, Sr    18:55  6:06  Central Conn. State
   9     9   Tara Losito, Jr         18:59  6:07  Monmouth
  10    10   Kelly Reap, So          19:03  6:08  Saint Francis (PA)
  11    11   Carolyn Robin, Jr       19:03  6:09  Quinnipiac
  12    12   Laura Beach, Fr         19:06  6:09  Saint Francis (PA)
  13    13   Erin Doak, Fr           19:09  6:10  Quinnipiac
  14    14   Tracey Molnar, Sr       19:10  6:11  Saint Francis (PA)