Sept. 20, 2008

Fairfield, CT -

Complete Monmouth Invitational Resutls

The Sacred Heart cross country teams posted solid finishes at the Monmouth Invitational held in Holmdel, NJ this weekend. The Pioneer women were led by Sarah Tencza (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury), who finished 7th overall with a time of 19:05. Luis German (Southampton, NY/Southampton) again finished as the Pioneers top men's harrier in 11th clocking in at 27:13.

Mekenzie Krause (Bennington, VT/Mt. Anthony Union) continued her very impressive freshman campaign finishing 9th overall in 19:10. Samantha Troy (Lebanon, CT/Lyman Memorial), Sara Pollock (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown), and Dana Troy (Lebanon, CT/Lyman Memorial) also scored points for the red and white with times of 19:48, 19:57, and 20:02 respectively. The top 7 was rounded out by former NEC rookie of the year Kathleen Henry (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) and freshman Brittany Llobell (West Sayville, NY/Sayville)

The SHU women defeated several NEC members in the race including Monmouth, Saint Francis (PA), Central Connecticut, Wagner, Mount St. Mary's, and St. Francis (NY).

The Pioneer men raced well behind German placing four runners in the top 20. Brendan Rickert (Danbury, CT/Danbury) finished 16th overall, crossing the line in 27:30. Andrew Houghtalen (West Charlton, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and Matthew Chorney (Bristol, NH/Newfound Regional) tied for 20th with a time of 27:42. The Pioneers final scoring position was claimed by Richard Marcello (Foster, RI/Scituate) who finished in 38th at 28:28. The Pioneer top 7 was rounded out with a pair of 28:35 times from Samuel Silliman (Portland, CT/Portland) and Ryan Murdoch (Salem, CT/East Lyme). The men also ran by five conference opponents in route to their 4th place finish.

The strong showing at Holmdel Park is especially encouraging because it will play host to the Northeast Conference championship race in November. However, conference rival Quinnipiac won both the men's and women's contests this weekend. Sacred Heart Cross Country will be back in action September 27th at the 32nd Annual Fairfield University Victor F. Leeber Invitational; race time is 11:00 am.