Ithaca Wins WXC Title: Regan Individual Champion
RESULTS
The Ithaca College women's cross country team raced to a first-place finish Saturday at the 2016 Empire 8 Cross Country Championships hosted at Fortin Park in Oneonta, NY. The Bombers tallied 25 points to remain the only school to win the title since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2003.
Senior Amy Regan of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's cross country team became the first student-athlete to ever win four Empire 8 Conference titles on Saturday. No runner in E8 history had won the event more than twice prior to Regan.
From start to finish it was Regan and Ithaca’s Taryn Cordani leading the way. Regan had a few strides on Cordani for the entire race and it was enough as Regan clocked a time of 17:17.4 on the 5K course, five seconds ahead of Cordani (17:22.7).
Regan helped Stevens to another second place finish as a team with 42 points. Nazareth placed third in the team standings with 76 points, followed by Utica (118), St. John Fisher College (136), Houghton (161), Hartwick (208) and Elmira (251). Alfred University had runner compete but not enough to compile a team score.
Stevens sophomore Mary Visca finished third in 18:06.5 and Ithaca junior Denise Ibarra came in fourth overall with a time of 18:22.7, while sophomore Sierra Grazia followed in fifth at 19:02.1.
Ithaca senior Michaela Cioffredi took sixth in the championship in 19:04.3, Nazareth senior Emily Thompson placed seventh with a time of 19:12 and freshman Annie Morrison rounded out the top runners for Ithaca in eighth at 19:13.3.
Ithaca sophomore Emilie Mertz finished ninth in 19:13.7 and senior Emily Drain took 15th at 19:44.6.
Stevens senior Kathleen Kalbian closed out her Empire 8 meet career with an 11th place time of 19:29.2, while freshman Claire Tantillo and senior Kaela Earrusso each finished in the top-15.