2008 Meet Summaries

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. 15: at NCAA Division III Mideast Region Championships Results

WAYNESBURG, Pa. — Sophomore Alycia Woodruff (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) placed eighth out of 305 runners to lead Susquehanna University to an eighth-place finish of the 44 teams competing at the NCAA Division III Mideast Region women’s cross country championships hosted by Waynesburg University at Greene County Airport on Nov. 15.

Woodruff crossed the finish line of the 6,000-meter course in a time of 22 minutes, 38 seconds, earning herself a trip to the Division III championship for the second year running. The national meet will be hosted by Hanover College on Nov. 22.

Freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) followed by registering a time of 23:38 to earn a 34th-place finish, while senior Laura Gausmann (York, Pa./West York) and junior Cait Pflaum (York, Pa./West York) finished in 59th and 87th with times of 24:24 and 25:00, respectively. Sophomore Lauren Smith (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five by claiming 101st place with a 25:13 time.

Susquehanna tallied 289 points—good for eighth place. The Johns Hopkins University won the team title with a score of 80. Dickinson College placed second with 129, while Messiah College followed with 174 points to claim third.

Nov. 1: at Landmark Conference championships Results

ALTOONA, Pa. — Sophomore Alycia Woodruff (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) and freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) placed first and second, respectively, to lead Susquehanna University to a slew of awards at the Landmark Conference women’s cross country championships hosted by Juniata College at Fort Roberdeau on Nov. 1.

Woodruff was the first to cross the finish line of the 6,000-meter course in a time of 23 minutes, 24.5 seconds, earning herself the Landmark Athlete of the Year award and a first-team all-conference honor for the second year running. Susquehanna won its first Landmark women's cross country championship.

Hess, finishing in 23:26.6, good for second out of 77 runners, was the honoree of the Rookie of the Year award, while also landing on the first-team.

Senior Laura Gausmann (York, Pa./West York) followed by registering a time of 24:42.5 to earn second-team honors in 10th place. Sophomore Lauren Smith (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) and junior Cait Pflaum (York, Pa./West York) joined Gausmann on the second team, finishing in 13th and 14th with times of 25:02.7 and 25:05.5, respectively.

Freshman Katelin Peropat (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) finished in 22nd place in 25:51.2, and sophomore Sarah Spearing (Wenham, Mass./Hamilton –Wenham Regional) claimed 24th in 25:53.2 to finish as the sixth and seventh-best Susquehanna runners. With their finishes, Peropat and Spearing displaced the points totals of other team’s top five finishers.

Susquehanna tallied 40 points for the win. Juniata followed in second with 61, while The University of Scranton was third with 72.

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 Results

LANCASTER, Pa. — Despite resting four of its top five competitors and racing only freshmen and sophomores, the Susquehanna University women’s cross country team placed fifth out of 15 teams at the Battle for the Buggy, held at Lancaster County Central Park, on Oct. 25.

Freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) placed third out of 107 runners on the 4,000-meter course with a 15-minute, 31.90-second finish to lead the Crusaders.

Freshman Katelin Peropat (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) followed by registering a time of 16:51.71, good for 21st place, while freshman Teresa McHale (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) and sophomore Sarah Spearing (Wenham, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham Regional) placed 35th and 38th with times of 17:12.57 and 17:21.24, respectively. Sophomore Katie Grap (Palmyra, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 47th place with a 17:39.46 time.

The NCAA Division III Orange and Maroon placed fifth with 132 points behind Elizabethtown College (45), Division II Bloomsburg University (83), Christopher Newport University (107) and Misericordia University (110). SU finished ahead of two Division II squads.

Oct. 18: at Gettysburg Invitational Results

GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Susquehanna University’s sophomore Alycia Woodruff (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) finished second out of 233 runners at the Gettysburg Invitational, held on a 6,000-meter course on Oct. 18.

Woodruff finished in a time of 22 minutes, 24.66 seconds, while Susquehanna finished third amongst 21 teams.

Freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) followed by registering a time of 23:25.41, good for 12th place, while senior Laura Gausmann (York, Pa./West York) and freshman Lauren Smith (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) placed 19th and 28th with times of 23:47.71 and 24:00.56, respectively. Junior Cait Pflaum (York, Pa./West York) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 45th place with a 24:29.07 time.

The Orange and Maroon placed third with 101 points behind The Johns Hopkins University and Haverford College, who scored 70 and 80 points, respectively.

Haverford and Johns Hopkins are ranked Nos. 8 and 29, respectively, in the latest NCAA Division III poll by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Oct. 11: at Eagle Invitational Results

ALTOONA, Pa. — Susquehanna University’s sophomore Alycia Woodruff (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) finished first out of 82 runners at the Juniata College Eagle Invitational, held on a 5,000-meter course at Fort Roberdeau on Oct. 11. Woodruff won the invitational in a 19-minute, 16.50-second finish, while the  Susquehanna women’s cross country team finished first amongst nine teams.

Freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) followed by registering a time of 19:27.20, good for third place, while senior Laura Gausmann (York, Pa./West York) and freshman Katelin Peropat (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) placed 6th and 9th with times of 20:16.40 and 20:35.70, respectively. Junior Cait Pflaum (York, Pa./West York) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 11th place with a 20:43.30 time.

The Orange and Maroon won the team title with a score of 30. Elizabethtown College placed second with 37 points, while Juniata tallied 90 points to place third.

Sept. 27: at Purple Valley Classic Results

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Susquehanna University women’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.

Four women’s runners participated in a 5,000-meter run, while seven more competed in a 6,000-meter race.

Sophomore Alycia Woodruff (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) placed 11th out of 179 runners with a time of 23 minutes, 32 seconds on the 6,000-meter course to lead Susquehanna to seventh place out of 18 teams.

Freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) finished 26th with a time of 24:17 in the same race. Senior Laura Gausmann (York, Pa./West York) placed 60th with a 25:13, and sophomore Lauren Smith (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) and junior Cait Pflaum (York, Pa./West York) finished 69th and 86th, respectively, with times of 25:25 and 25:48.

Susquehanna’s team total in the 6,000 was 195. Host Williams finished first with a score of 38. NCAA Division I Dartmouth College competed in the 6,000 but did not register a team score.

In the 5,000-meter race, freshman Katelin Peropat (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) ran the course in 21:48 to place 17th out of 95 runners. The Crusaders did not register a team score.

Sophomore Karissa Leary (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) finished just behind Peropat in 18th place with a time of 21:51. Sophomore Katie Grap (Palmyra, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) placed 42nd with a 23:36, and sophomore Jessica Bellizio (Monmouth Junction, N.J./South Brunswick) took 53rd in an even 24:00.

Sept. 13: at PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational Results

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Susquehanna University women’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 fifth Division III athlete to cross the finish line, sophomore Alycia Woodruff (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East), 39th overall, led the Crusaders on the 6,000 meter-course with a 23-minute, 35-second finish. Freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) followed by registering a time of 24:10, good for 58th place, while senior Laura Gausmann (York, Pa./West York) and sophomore Lauren Smith (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) placed 62nd 84th with times of 24:22 and 24:59, respectively. Junior Cait Pflaum (York, Pa./West York) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 88th place with a 25:07 time.

Division I Syracuse University won the team title with a total score of 30, while D-I Penn State placed second with 45 points. D-I Columbia University (N.Y.) finished third, tallying 80 points.

Aug. 29: at Bison Open Results

LEWISBURG, Pa. — Sophomore Alycia Woodruff (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) finished in 11th place out of 67 runners from all three NCAA divisions with a time of 18 minutes, 5.19 seconds on a three-mile course to lead Susquehanna University to a third-place team finish at Bucknell University’s women’s cross country 2008 Bison Open on Aug. 29.

Division I Bucknell won the team title with a total score of 23. Division II Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania finished second with a 44. Susquehanna topped Division I Saint Francis (Pa.) University by a wide margin of 68 to 109. Susquehanna was the only Division III school at the four-team meet.

Freshman Casey Hess (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) was the second Susquehanna runner to cross the line. Hess finished 21st overall with a time of 18:47.40. Junior Cait Pflaum (York, Pa./West York) and sophomore Lauren Smith (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) were 23rd and 24th with times of 18:53.14 and 18:54.32, respectively. Senior Laura Gausmann (York, Pa./West York) rounded out the Crusaders’ top five in 27th place with a 19:01.34 time.