Regan, Morrison and Ithaca Coaching Staff Earn Top E8 2016 Season Awards
The Empire 8 Conference has honored Stevens Institute of Technology senior Amy Regan with Runner of the Year honors. Ithaca College freshman Annika Morrison was tabbed the Rookie of the Year and Ithaca College was selected the E8 Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year.
Regan concluded the 2016 season by with the second NCAA cross country national championship of her career, as she crossed the finish line in 20:16.4 to place her nearly 15 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Regan previously won the championship in the event in 2014. For the season, Regan went a perfect 7-0 this fall to give her two straight years of undefeated races. The veteran also made history earlier in the season when she became the first runner in Empire 8 Conference history to win the individual conference title for the fourth time.
The Rookie of the Year honor goes to a Bomber for the seventh time and first time since 2011.
Morrison was the top freshman runner at the Empire 8 championships with an eighth place finish (19:13.3) over the 5K course. She was the third freshman at the NCAA Regional meet, as she placed 46 out of 304 runners in the 6K race with a time of 22:22.6 to help the Bombers to a fourth place team finish and earn a bid to the national championship. Morrison had her personal best 6K time at the NCAA meet with a time of 22:07.6 to place 126th out of 280 runners.
Head Coach Erin Dinan and the Bomber coaching staff earned the top-coaching award. Ithaca claimed its 14th straight conference title in October, remaining the only school to be crowned Empire 8 champions since the conference first started to sponsor the sport in 2003. Nine Ithaca athletes finished in the top-20 and six of those earned first-team all-conference and three earned second-team honors. Other highlights for the Bombers this season included a fourth place finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship and an 11th place finish out of 32 teams at the NCAA Regional Championship.
In addition, one member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2016 Women’s Cross Country Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
The first and second team all-conference teams were announced following the conclusion of the championship.
Empire 8 2016 Women’s Cross Country All-Conference Awards
Player of the Year: Amy Regan, Stevens Institute of Technology
Rookie of the Year: Annika Morrison, Ithaca College
Coaching Staff of the Year: Ithaca College
First Team
Name School
Amy Regan Stevens
Taryn Cordani Ithaca
Mary Visca Stevens
Denise Ibarra Ithaca
Sierra Grazia Ithaca
Michaela Cioffredi Ithaca
Emily Thompson Nazareth
Annika Morrison Ithaca
Emilie Mertz Ithaca
Kaitlyn Stinson Utica
Second Team
Name School
Kathleen Kalbian Stevens
Claire Ludington Nazareth
Claire Tantillo Stevens
Kaela Earrusso Stevens
Emily Drain Ithaca
Kirstin Lynn Ithaca
Christina Gibble Ithaca
Samantha Goble Nazareth
Makenna Cooley Utica
Kristen Okorn Stevens
Sportswoman of the Year
Name School
Hannah Gaston Elmira College
Elsa Bock Hartwick College
Emily Blosdale Houghton College
Kristin Lynn Ithaca College
Jamie DiSalvo Nazareth College
McCayla Crawford St. John Fisher College
Kiera Sheridan Stevens Institute of Technology
Abby Schaible Utica College