Ithaca Wins WXC Title: Regan Repeats as Individual Champion
RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY
The Ithaca College women's cross country team raced to a first-place finish out of nine teams Saturday at the 2014 Empire 8 Cross Country Championships hosted at Saratoga Spa State Park. The Bombers tallied 35 points to remain the only school to win the title since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2003.
Junior Amy Regan of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's cross country team became the first student-athlete to ever win three consecutive Empire 8 Conference titles on Saturday.
Regan clocked a time of 17:03 on the 3.04-mile course to establish a new meet record and beat the next closest runner by 53 seconds. Regan's time was also 26 seconds faster than the old meet record. In all, 89 runners ventured the conference championship course. Since her freshman year, she has shaved 1:06 off her original championship time back in 2012 of 18:09.
She also helped Stevens to another second place finish as a team with 44 points.
Nazareth placed third in the team standings with 84 points, followed by St. John Fisher (121), Utica (157), Houghton (161), Alfred (177), Hartwick (215) and Elmira (258).
All seven Ithaca athletes finished in the top-15 and five of those earned top-10 finishes. Six runners also clocked personal best times. Senior
Alexa Rick led the Bombers squad to victory with a fourth place time of 18:09.1.
Fellows senior
Hannah Wright and
Emily Smith crossed the finish line next for Ithaca to earn fifth and seventh place finishes. Wright clocked a personal best time of 18:14.0 and Smith also clocked a personal best time of 18:16.5.
Junior
Anna Fay and graduate student Allison Bartowiak also recorded personal best times of 18:18.7 and 18:21.0 to rank ninth and 10
th overall.
Junior
Michaela Cioffredi and senior
Anastasia Diamond closed out the Bomber's top seven with 11
th and 12
th place finishes. Cioffredi clocked a persona best time of 18:22.4 and Diamond a personal best time of 18:28.2.
Nazareth junior
Gabrielle LeBihan placed second overall in the women's five-kilometer race with a time of 17:56.5.
The Ducks nearly went 1-2 in the meet, as sophomore
Kathleen Kalbian placed third in a time of 18:00. Kalbian was just four seconds out of the runner-up position. Junior
Kate Moyer also put together a top 10 showing with a time of 18:17 which was good for eighth overall.
Alfred sophomore Mary Baughman ran a great race for the Saxons and placed sixth individually in a time of 18:15.
Utica junior Ashton Villeneuve and St. John Fisher sophomore Samantha VanGee completed the top 14 runners, placing 13th and 14th, respectively. Villeneuve clocked a time of 18:34.6 while VanGee crossed the line in 18:38.4.