W. cross country wins region over 43 teams

By: Tristan Mohabir

Posted: 11/20/08

The Hopkins men's and women's cross country teams competed in the NCAA Mideast Regionals in Waynesburg, Penn. this weekend. The women dominated the field, finishing first out of 44 teams. The men's team also did well, finishing in eighth place.

The frigid, muddy conditions did not stop the women's team from racing to a commanding victory over the rest of the 43-team field, as the Lady Jays finished in first place by an astounding 49-point margin. A team score is determined by adding together the places of the team's top five finishers.

"The course was muddy since it was raining earlier and the guys ran the course before the girls, which made it a little more challenging. It was also pretty cold. I think this was the coldest race we've run so far this season," star junior Laura Paulsen said.

Paulsen led the pack for the Lady Jays, finishing fourth overall with a time of 22:15. Despite her phenomenal performance, Paulsen felt she could have done even better,"I personally didn't run a great race. I've beaten the girl who won regionals twice this season already, since she's from our conference, so I don't know what happened. Hopefully at nationals though I'll be more ready to race again," Paulsen said.

Each of Hopkins's top five runners finished in the top 25, a feat that seems even more impressive when factoring in the fact that 305 runners competed in the regional meet.

Junior Mira Patel finished in seventh place, finishing at 22:36. Senior Emma Hiza crossed the line at the 23:28 mark, good for 22nd place.

Hopkins also controlled 23rd and 24th places, as well, as senior Rachel Hogen finished directly behind Hiza and freshman Cecilia Furlong finished directly behind Hogen. Hogen finished the race at 23:29, while Furlong came in just a few seconds later at 23:32. Senior Mary O'Grady finished in 66th place with a time of 24:35, and freshman Christina Valerio came in 73rd, finishing at 24:42. Hopkins finished with 80 points to earn first place out of 44 teams. Dickinson finished second with 129 points, followed by Messiah (174), Elizabethtown (182) and Grove City (186), to round out the top five.

"Our entire team was on task in warmups," head coach Bobby Van Allen said. "We ran very well and went after it as a team."

The Lady Jays, ranked 11th nationally, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA National Championship, held at Hanover College next Saturday.

"Regionals went really great for the women's team. We were all focused and really wanted to win or at least automatically qualify as a team for nationals before the race" Paulsen said. "Everyone ran a smart race and ran so well - we're all excited for nationals. It's great to be able to go again and have more confidence than last year after winning regionals. Nationals is on Saturday and we're all so pumped and excited to run there again."

The Hopkins women's team was ranked 11th nationally at the end of last week, and the performance at regionals could move them into the top 10.

"Hopefully everyone will be on top of their game and ready to give it their all for this last race of the season," Paulsen said.

The men accumulated 240 points in finishing towards the top of the field of 43 schools. The Jays' top individual performance came from senior Geoff Nunns, who finished 30th overall in the race with a time of 26:24. Not far behind Nunns was junior Dave Sigmon, who crossed the finish line one second after his teammate, finishing in 32nd place with a time of 26:25.

Both Sigmon and Nunns earned all-region honors for their performances this season. Freshman Brian Rooney also gave a solid contribution, finishing in 45th place with a time of 26:49, earning all-freshman honors. Junior Graham Belton crossed the finish line at 27:11, good for 66th place.

Right behind Belton, and rounding out the Hopkins top five, was another freshman, Mickey Borsellino, who finished in 67th place with a time of 27:13. Returning from a foot injury, sophomore Steve Tobochnik placed 73rd with a time of 27:18, and sophomore Derek Cheng came in at 28:00 for 115th.

"No one ran conservatively and everyone put out everything they had and it just was not our day. We'll be back next year, stronger and faster," Borsellino said, of the team's showing Saturday.

Carnegie Mellon won the meet with 37 points. Rounding out the top seven were Allegheny (73), Dickinson (86), Haverford (106), Elizabethtown (214), Gettysburg (216) and Messiah (224).

The men did not qualify for an at-large bid to the NCAA men's championships, but finished one of the more successful seasons in men's cross country history at Johns Hopkins.

The NCAA Championships for women will take place on Saturday at Hanover College's L.S. Ayres Complex in Hanover, Ind.