Racing Toward Glory

SELINSGROVE, Pa. - On the heels of strong third-place showings at the recent Middle Atlantic Conference championships, the Susquehanna University men's and women's cross country teams will line up for the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional on Saturday, November 11 at Carlisle (Pa.) High School. The event is hosted by Dickinson College.

Second-year head coach Craig Penney, who served as head track and field coach at Dickinson from 1997 to 1999, is confident that his Crusaders will be able to improve on their 22nd place finish on the men's side and 13th place standing on the women's side at last year's regional meet at Frostburg State.

The men's team will be led by junior co-captain Mike Lehtonen and freshman Ryan Gleason, each of whom played a major role in the Crusaders placing third at the MAC championships.

Lehtonen (Morris, N.Y./Morris Central H.S.) captured fourth place at the MAC championships, just 42 seconds behind individual champion Joe Fent of Scranton. Lehtonen was the top Susquehanna finisher in last year's regional meet as he came home in 77th place. Gleason (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop H.S.) ran a season-best 27:06.83 at the MAC championships to finish seventh and second among all freshmen.

One of the pleasant surprises at the MAC meet was the performance of senior Micha Van Waesberghe (Axel, The Netherlands/Reynaert), who took 16th place with a time of 27:55.55. Junior co-captain Jake Trevino (Danville, Pa./Danville H.S.) finished 23rd at MACs in 28:07.19, but he was just four seconds shy of finishing in the top 20.

Freshmen Ryan McGuire (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon H.S.) and Clint Swartz (Milton, Pa./Warrior Run H.S.) will also compete in the NCAA meet after placing 28th and 45th, respectively, at the MAC championships. Rounding out the contingent of runners for the Crusaders is junior Rob Logan (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood H.S.), whose time of 29:52.04 earned him 66th place at the MAC championships.

On the women's side, junior co-captain Kim Owen (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin H.S.) was the top Susquehanna finisher at the MAC championships as she took eighth place in a time of 20:06.09. Also turning in a solid result at MACs and hoping to do the same on Saturday is sophomore Angela Luino (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills H.S.), a 13th-place finisher in the conference championships.

Sophomore Erin Colwell (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley H.S.), who has been one of the top runners for the Crusaders this season, slipped to a 15th-place finish at the MAC meet in a time of 20:22.73. A strong showing from Colwell could boost the Crusaders in the team standings.

Other runners for the Crusaders will include freshman Amanda Phillips (Waymart, Pa./Western Wayne H.S.), a solid 24th-place finisher in the MAC championships, freshman Kassi Tylenda (Windsor, N.Y./Windsor H.S.), who ran 51st in the MAC meet, junior Katrina Emery (Easton, Pa./Wilson Area H.S.) and junior Megan Marquette (Trevorton, Pa./Line Mountain H.S.).

The men's and women's team champions will receive automatic bids to the 2000 NCAA Division III Cross Country championships in Spokane, Washington on November 18. In addition, the top six finishers in the men's race and top four finishers in the women's race will also earn berths in their respective 215-runner fields at the national championships.