2007 Meet Summaries

November 17: at NCAA Division III National Championships
November 10: at NCAA Mideast Regional Championships
October 27: at Landmark Conference Championships
October 20: at Elizabethtown Invitational
October 13: at Desales Invitational
September 28: at Paul Short Invitational
September 22: at the Purple Valley Classic
September 8: at Lebanon Valley Invitational
August 31: at the Bison Invitational

November 17: Thistle competes as lone Landmark athlete at national meet Results

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Sophomore Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon), the first male to the represent Susquehanna University at the NCAA Division III Cross-Country National Championships since Ryan Gleason earned All-American honors in 2003, placed 172nd of 280 with a time 26:12. The meet was hosted by St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN in cold (38 degrees) and breezy conditions. Over the rolling and crowded course, Paul finished with a time of 26:12, his second fastest time of the year.  His plan was to get out smart and strong and run consistent throughout the race.  He crossed the first mile in 214th place and settled in and ran by the second mile in 230th. Leading up to mile 3, he started to slowly work his way through the field moving up to 225th. He passed 17 runners over the 4th mile and then out ran 36 more runners over the final mile to finish 172nd.

Paul was the only male representative from the Landmark Conference running at the NCAA Division III Cross-Country National Championships.

Saturday, Nov. 10: Men finish 14th, Thistle earns his way to National Meet Results

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- With all seven members of the team running a personal best in the 8 Kilometer race, the Crusaders finished 14th of 41 at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. The meet was hosted by Muhlenberg College and held at Lehigh University. The meet was run on the same course as which the men ran at the Paul Short Invitational in September. Each member of the team improved their previous time by an average of seventy-five seconds. Two hundred eighty-two runners participated in the championships.  

Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) was the top Crusader finishing with a time of 25:28 and a 21st place finish. His 21st place finish earned him NCAA All Mideast Honors and a trip to the NCAA Division III National Championships as an individual. The NCAA Division III National Championships will be hosted by St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN and is schedule for Saturday, November 17. He is the first Crusader to represent Susquehanna University at the NCAA Division III National Championships since Ryan Gleason earned All-American Honors in 2003.

Running as a strong pack, the 2-5 runners for the Crusaders were separated by just 21 seconds. In 95th place, Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) was the second member of the team across the line in 27:09. JJ Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) was next just 6 seconds back in 101st place and 27:15. Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) finished fast on the heels of JJ in 105th place and 27:18. Rounding out the scoring for the Crusaders in 116th place was Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, Pa./Shikellamy) with a time of 27:30.

Freshmen David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) (27:50) and Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) (28:19) ran very strong in their first NCAA Mideast Championship meet.

Saturday Oct. 27: Thistle, team take inaugural Landmark championships Results

TOWSON, Md. -- In less than ideal conditions, the Crusaders laid claim to the inaugural Landmark Conference Cross-Country Championship. Rain on Friday and Saturday left the hilly course water-soaked and muddy. Racing aggressively from the start and using a very strong pack with a solid front runner, the men won a close battle with Juniata College, 52-53. It is Susquehanna's first cross-country team championship since 1984.

Leading the way for the Crusaders was Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon), winning the Landmark Conference Individual Championship. His time 27:37 was 20 seconds better than second place and set a new course record. Thistle executed the race plan perfectly to become the first Crusader to win a cross-country individual championship since Greg Pealer in 1984. For his first place finish, Thistle was also named the first Landmark Conference Runner of the Year.

Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) was the second Crusader across the line in 28:37. His eighth place finish earned him Landmark Conference Second Team honors. Also on the Landmark Conference Second Team were JJ Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian), who finished 13th in 29:00, and Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, Pa./Shikellamy), who finished in 29:03. Right behind were Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) (29:07) in 16th place and David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) (29:09) in 17th place. Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) (29:57) finished in 22nd place, giving the Crusaders seven men in the top 25.

Not far off the top seven were Jon Kunhardt (Greenfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) (30:48) and Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy)(30:53) finishing 35th and 36th respectively. Also running for the Crusaders was Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest) (32.37) and Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) (36:25).

Head Coach Marty Owens and Assistant Coach Kate Curran were honored as the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Saturday, Oct. 20: Crusaders finish strong at Elizabethtown Invitational Results

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA -- In a final tune up before the Landmark Conference Championships, the men ran a split squad at the Elizabethtown College Invitational. In the scored 6K race, the Crusaders placed 6th out of 19 teams. The men ran very strong with 6 runners sepearted by 47 seconds. Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) led the way for the Susquehanna finishing 24th overall in 20:16. JJ Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) followed very closely in 20:23 finishing in 27th place. Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, Pa./Shikellamy) (20:42), Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) (20:56) and Jon Kunhardt (Greenfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) (21:01) took the final 3 scoring spots for the men. David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) (21:03) and Eric Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) (22:48) also participated in the 6K scored race for the Crusaders.

In the non-scored 4K, Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) led the way for the Crusaders finishing first overall in 12:21. Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) turned in a top 10 finish, finishing 6th overall in 13:10. Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) was the third Crusader across the line finishing in 20th place with a time of 14:04. Also running in the 4K were Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest) (14:56), Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth)(16:11) and Jason Sedgwick (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt) (24:46).

Saturday, Oct. 13: Crusaders tune up at Desales Invitational Results

ALLENTOWN, PA -- With two weeks till the inaugural Landmark Conference Championships, the Susquehanna University men's cross-country team competed at the Desales University Cross-Country Invitational. Taking the opportunity to rest their top four runners, the men placed 9th out of 20 teams.

The roster for the meet consisted of six freshmen, two juniors and one senior. Freshman Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) led the way for the Crusaders, with a 27th place finish, running 28:09 over the challenging course. Following closely behind were J.J. Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) in 35th place (28:30) and David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh)in 42nd (28:40).

Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) finished in 62nd place (29:33) with Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) finishing in 85th place (30:34) to round out the top five scoring positions for the Crusaders.  

Also running today was Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest) with a time of 31:26, Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) with a 35:10 and Jason Sedgwick (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt) with a 55:39.

The Crusaders will be back in action next week at Elizabethtown College Cross-Country Invitational. It will be the final tune-up before the Landmark Conference Championships. The men will be racing distances of 6K or 4K.

Friday, Sept. 28: Crusaders compete at Paul Short Invitational Results

BETHLEHEM, PA. - In a preview of the NCAA Mideast Regional course, the Crusaders finished 21st out of 39 schools. The men finished 16th out of Division III schools and, most importantly, seventh among 24 regional schools.

Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) led the way, finishing 18th overall with a new personal best of 26:31. Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) finished second for the Crusaders with a time of 27:42 and was closely followed by Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, Pa./Shikellamy) in 27:56.

Rounding out the top five for the men were John Xanthis (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen Central) in 28:41 and J.J. Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian)in 28:43. Also running strong races were Jon Kunhardt (Greenfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) at 28:46 and Robert Steffen (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) at 29:19.

The Crusaders also ran five runners in the JV race. Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) finished first for Susquehanna (29:04), and Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) with a time of 30:22, Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest)at 31:24, Kyle Appel (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) at 34:42 and Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth)at 36:19 were the other Crusaders in the race.

Saturday, September 22: 9th/11 at the Purple Valley Classic Results

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Saturday, the Crusaders traveled to Williams College to compete in the Purple Valley Classic. The men ran against four schools that are ranked in the top 10 in their respective regions and one Division I school (Dartmouth). Using a split squad format (8K and 5K) the men placed 9th out of 11 schools.

On what turned out to be a hot day, Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) led the way for the Crusaders over the challenging course with a 23rd place finish and a time of 27:10. Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) was the next Crusader in 50th place and a time of 28:11.

Rounding out the scoring positions for the Crusaders were, Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, Pa./Shikellamy) (29:17), JJ Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian)(29:25) and Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) (29:40). Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) also competed for the Crusaders finishing in 31:10.

The Crusaders had five runners compete in the 5K race where they finished fourth as a team. Jon Kunhardt (Greenfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) led the way with a 20th place finish and a time of 17:55 on the hilly course. Right behind him in 21st place was Robert Steffan (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) in a time of 18:06.

Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest) (19:20), Eric Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) (20:32) and Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) (21:19) were the other Crusaders in the 5K.

Saturday, September 8: 3rd/10 at the Lebanon Valley Invitational Results

ANNVILLE, PA -- In less than ideal racing conditions, the men placed third overall out of 10 schools at the Lebanon Valley College Cross-Country Invitational. With temperatures in the middle 80's and very high humidity, the men raced a distance of 8050 meters. Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) led the way finishing 2nd overall, for his second top 3 finish of the year, in 27:27.05. David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) continued his impressive start to his career finishing 7th overall in 28:44.5. Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, Pa./Shikellamy) was the third susquehanna runner in the top 10 finishing 10th overall in 29:07.18. Rounding the top 5 for the crusaders were Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) (22nd/29:52.99) and Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) (23rd/29:56.23). Other results for the crusaders: John Xanthis (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen Central) (30:20/28th); Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) (30:35/31st); Jon Kunhardt (Greenfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) (31:12/43rd); Robert Steffan (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) (31:19/45th); Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest) (32:13/56th); J.J. Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) (32:41/63); Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) (35:24/80th); Kyle Apple (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) (37:25/83rd); Jason Sedgwick (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt) (1:05/108th)

The team finished with 64 points just one point behind Messiah(63/2nd place) and 13 points behind Rutgers-Camden (51/1st). They finished clear of 4th place Lebanon Valley College (98/4th place)

Friday, August 31: Thistle places third at Bison Invitational Results

LEWISBURG , PA -- Sophomore cross country standout Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) corralled a third place finish in the Bison Invitational at Bucknell University during the team's first race this season.

Thistle ran a 15:03.99 time in the three-mile event. His time fell just short of the second-place finisher, Michael Gibney of Bucknell, who clocked a 15:03.54.

Head coach Marty Owens flashed his physical prowess at the invitational. Running unattached, Owens placed 44 th overall with a time of 16:40.40.

Freshman David Haklar (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) debuted in his first collegiate cross country race, finishing 32nd at 16:05.86.

Other competitors included Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, Pa./Shikellamy) (16:24.30), Mike Harahan (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) (16:29.46), Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) (16:31.52), Luke Trama (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) (16:35.52), John Xanthis (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen Central) (16:57.09), Jon Kunhardt (Greenfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) (17:04.33), Robert Steffan (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) (17:17.31), J.J. Brooks (Cogan Station, Pa./Meadowbrook Christian) (17:47.15), Chad Hoggle (Gaithersburg, Md./Northwest) (17:50.32), Glen Staples (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) (18:25.09) and Kyle Apple (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham)l (19:56.44).

The four-team invitational included Bucknell University , Kutztown University , the University of Scranton and Susquehanna.