2008 Meet Summaries

Nov. 22: at NCAA Division III championship
Nov. 15: at NCAA Division III Mideast Region championships
Nov. 1: at Landmark Conference championships
Oct. 25: at Battle for the Buggy
Oct. 18: at Gettysburg Invitational
Oct. 11: at Eagle Invitational
Sept. 27: at Purple Valley Classic
Sept. 13: at PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational
August 29: at Bison Open

Nov. 22: at NCAA Division III championship Results

HANOVER, Ind. — Junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) placed 164th out of 278 runners from around the country in the 2008 NCAA Division III men's cross country championship at Hanover College's L.S. Ayres Complex on Nov. 22.

Thistle posted a time of 25 minutes, 57.31 seconds on the 8,000-meter course during his second straight trip to the NCAA championship. He was one of only two Landmark Conference runners to qualify for the national championship race.

The 164th-place finish ends a fine 2008 season for Thistle, who repeated as the Landmark's individual champion and led Susquehanna to a back-to-back men's cross country team championship.

A Hamilton College runner won the individual national title with a time of 24:22.03.

The national team champion was SUNY Cortland, which finished with a score of 80. North Central College placed second with 115. Susquehanna did not register a team score.

Nov. 15: at NCAA Division III Mideast Region championships Results

WAYNESBURG, Pa. — Junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) placed 11th out of 306 runners to lead Susquehanna University to a 12th-place finish of the 43 teams competing at the NCAA Division III Mideast Region championships hosted by Waynesburg University at Greene County Airport on Nov. 15.

Thistle crossed the finish line of the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25 minutes, 49 seconds, earning himself a trip to the Division III championship for the second year running. The national meet will be hosted by Hanover College on Nov. 22.

Sophomore Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) followed by registering a time of 27:18 to earn a 74th-place finish, while sophomore Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) and freshman Joe Zamadics (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) finished in 87th and 97th with times of 27:33 and 27:40, respectively. Sophomore David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five by claiming 109th place with a 27:53 time.

Susquehanna tallied 378 points—good for 12th place—while finishing just four points behind Salisbury University and 54 points ahead of Landmark Conference rival Juniata College. Carnegie Mellon University won the team title with a score of 37. Allegheny College placed second with 73, while Dickinson College followed with 86 points to claim third.

Nov. 1: at Landmark Conference championships Results

ALTOONA, Pa. — Junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) placed first to lead back-to-back champions Susquehanna University to a slew of awards at the Landmark Conference men’s cross country championships hosted by Juniata College at Fort Roberdeau on Nov. 1.

Thistle was the first to cross the finish line of the 8,000-meter course in a time of 26 minutes, 46.9 seconds, earning himself the Landmark Athlete of the Year award and a first-team all-conference honor for the second year running. Senior J.J. Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) also landed on the first team, finishing in 27:30.9, good for fourth out of 82 runners.

Sophomore Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) followed by registering a time of 27:54.8 to earn second-team honors in 11th place. Sophomores Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) and Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) joined Harahan on the second team, finishing in 12th and 13th with times of 27:56.7 and 28:03.5, respectively.

Freshman Joe Zamadics (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) finished in 14th place in 28:08.3, and sophomore David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) claimed 19th in 28:28.6 to finish as the sixth and seventh-best Susquehanna runners. With their finishes, Zamadics and Haklar displaced the points totals of other team’s top five finishers.

Susquehanna tallied 41 points for the win. Juniata followed in second with 49, while Moravian College was third with 87.

Susquehanna head coach Marty Owens earned both the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year awards. It was the second straight men's Coach of the Year honor for Owens.

Oct. 25: at Battle for the Buggy 4,000m Results 5,990m Results

LANCASTER, Pa. — The Susquehanna University men’s cross country team competed in two different races at the Battle for the Buggy, held at Lancaster County Central Park, on Oct. 25.

Resting two of its top runners, Susquehanna had 11 men participate in a 4,000-meter run, while five more competed in a 5,990-meter race.

Running its other top runners in the 4,000-meter race, the Crusaders placed first out of three teams with a score of 32. Senior J.J. Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) ran the course in 13 minutes, 28.49 seconds to lead SU and place fourth out of 34 runners.

Sophomore Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) posted a time of 13:30.90 to finish fifth. Sophomores Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) and Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) ran times of 13:33.96 and 13:35.99, respectively, for sixth and eighth places. Joe Zamadics (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) rounded out the Crusaders' top five with a ninth-place time of 13:44.37.

Freshman Brandon Alexander (Newmanstown, Pa./Eastern Lebanon County) placed 44th out of 113 runners in 20:10.36 to lead the Crusaders to 13th place out of 17 teams in the 5,990-meter race. Freshman Dan Martin (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) finished 62nd with a time of 22:51.72 in the same race. Freshman Justin Zarzaca (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) placed 70th in 23:15.58, and sophomores Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest) and Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) finished 78th and 98th, respectively, with times of 23:53.34 and 25:54.83.

The NCAA Division III Orange and Maroon finished with a score of 323 in the 5,990-meter run. Elizabethtown College won the event with a score of 35. Susquehanna finished behind two Division II squads.

Oct. 18: at Gettysburg Invitational Results

GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Susquehanna University’s junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) finished first out of 270 runners at the Gettysburg Invitational, held on a 8,000-meter course on Oct. 18.

Thistle beat the second-place finisher by over seven seconds with a 25-minute, 33.06-second performance that helped Susquehanna finish eighth amongst 19 teams.

Sophomore David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) followed by registering a time of 27:02.64, good for 43rd place, while sophomores Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) and Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) placed 46th and 61st with times of 27:04.56 and 27:17.41, respectively. Freshman Joe Zamadics (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 69th place with a 27:26.53 time.

The Johns Hopkins University won the team title with a score of 77. Gettysburg placed second with 90, while the United States Coast Guard Academy followed close behind with a 96-point finish.

Oct. 11: at Eagle Invitational Results

ALTOONA, Pa. — Susquehanna University’s junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) finished first out of 106 runners at the Juniata College Eagle Invitational, held on a 7,500-meter course at Fort Roberdeau on Oct. 11. Thistle broke the overall course record in a 24-minute, 55.80-second finish. The Susquehanna men’s cross country team finished third amongst 11 teams.
 
Sophomore Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) followed by registering a time of 25:57.40, good for ninth place, while freshman Joe Zamadics (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) and sophomore Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) placed 21st and 22nd with times of 26:41.40 and 26:44.40, respectively. Sophomore Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 25th place with a 26:53.10 time.

Elizabethtown College won the team title with a score of 29. Juniata College placed second with 62 points, while Susquehanna followed close behind with a 69-point finish. Moravian College was the next closest to the Crusaders with score of 100.

Sept. 27: at Purple Valley Classic Results

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Susquehanna University men’s cross country team competed in two different races at Williams College’s Purple Valley Classic, held at Mount Greylock Regional High School, on Sept. 27.

Six men’s runners participated in a 5,000-meter run, while seven more competed in an 8,000-meter race.

Junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) placed eighth out of 205 runners with a time of 26 minutes, 41 seconds on the 8,000-meter course to lead Susquehanna to ninth place out of 18 teams.

Sophomore David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) finished 57th with a time of 27:59 in the same race. Sophomore Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) placed 71st with a 28:19, and sophomore Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) and freshman Joe Zamadics (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) finished 78th and 90th, respectively, with times of 28:32 and 28:49.

Susquehanna’s team total in the 8,000 was 243. Host Williams finished first with a score of 41. NCAA Division I Dartmouth College finished in third with 100.

In the 5,000-meter race, freshman Robby Caulfield (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) ran the course in 18:00 flat to place 31st out of 112 runners and lead the Crusaders to sixth place out of 11 teams.

Freshman Justin Zarzaca (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) ran an 18:10 to finish 38th. Freshmen Brandon Alexander (Newmanstown, Pa./Eastern Lebanon County) and Dan Martin (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) ran identical times of 18:39, but Alexander edged Martin for 48th place. Martin was 49th. Junior Kyle Appel (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) took 57th place in 18:57.

The Crusaders’ team total in the 5,000 was 173. Host Williams won that event as well with a score of 26.

Sept. 13: at PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational Results

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Susquehanna University men’s cross country team finished ninth amongst 14 teams from all NCAA divisions at Penn State University’s Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 13.

The sixth Division III athlete to cross the finish line, junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon), 30th overall, led the Crusaders on the 5.2-mile course with a 27-minute, 19-second finish. Sophomore David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) followed by registering a time of 28:56, good for 79th place, while sophomores Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) and Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) placed 90th and 94th with times of 29:20 and 29:30, respectively. Sophomore Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 100th place with a 29:57 time.

Division I Syracuse University won the team title with a total score of 15, while D-I Columbia University (N.Y.) placed second with 51 points. D-I Penn State finished third, tallying 83 points.

Aug. 29: at Bison Open Results

LEWISBURG, Pa. — Junior Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) finished in second place out of 71 runners  — and first among NCAA Division II and III competitors — with a time of 19 minutes, 58.81 seconds on a four-mile course to lead Susquehanna University to a third-place team finish at Bucknell University’s men’s cross country 2008 Bison Open on Aug. 29.

Division I Bucknell won the team title with a total score of 22. Division II Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania finished second with a 64. Susquehanna topped Division I Saint Francis (Pa.) University by a score of 76 to 78. Susquehanna was the only Division III school at the four-team meet.

Sophomore Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) was the second Susquehanna runner to cross the line. Trama finished 19th overall with a time of 21:02.59. Sophomores David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) and Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) were 22nd and 23rd with times of 21:11.42 and 21:19.67, respectively. Freshman Joe Zamadics (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 36th place with a 21:36.57 time.