NEW YORK --- The University of Delaware men’s and women’s cross country teams closed out the 2005 season by competing at the ECAC and IC4A Championships Saturday afternoon at Van Cortlandt State Park.

The Delaware women placed 12th in the five-kilometer ECAC Championship
race while the Blue Hen men placed 14th in the five-mile IC4A Championship race.

The Delaware men were once again led by junior P.J. Meany (Salesianum/Wilmington, DE - at right), who placed 14th in the IC4A championships with a time of 25:27.0. Meany, who improved upon last year’s 49th place finish at the IC4A meet, led the Blue Hens in all seven races this season and posted two first place finishes, four top 10 finishes, and
six top 20 finishes. Also for the Hens, Sam McKenzie placed 48th (26:03.7), Brad Dodson was 76th (26:24.0), Kyle Schmid placed 102nd (26:45.2), Kevin DuPrey was 104th (26:45.6), Gregg Cantwell placed 109th (26:48.5), and Tyler Mayforth was 124th (26:57.4).

Leading the Delaware women was freshman Julia Somers (Haverford/Haverford, PA), who covered the five-kilometer course in 18:42.7 to pace the Blue Hens for the second time this season. Also for the Hens, Colleen O’Brien placed 38th (18:58.0), Jessica Leitsch was 69th (19:57.5), Liz Paul finished 76th (20:22.4), Allison Behrle was
80th (20:41.8), Renee Gresh was 82nd (21:08.9), and Colleen Reid finished 84th (22:16.5).

Duke captured the men’s team title with 98 points followed by Cornell (112), Notre Dame (127), William & Mary (150), and Duquesne (191) in the 21-team field. In the women’s race, Cornell captured the team title with 76 points followed by Maryland (95), La Salle (109), Yale (118), and Iona (137) in the 13-team field. St. Francis (PA) runner Ryan Sheehan won the men’s race in a time of 24:58.9 while Yale’s Katherine McKinstry
was the winner of the women’s race in a time of 17:47.5.

Coaches races were also held Saturday for second-level runners but no team scores were kept. The Delaware men were led by Matt Bryden’s 10th place finish (27:57.0) in the five-mile race while Tara Jakeway’s 17th place finish in 20:51.0 led the UD women in the five-kilometer race.

AGATE:

Women’s ECAC Championship Race (5k):

Final Team Standings: 1. Cornell - 76; 2. Maryland - 95; 3. LaSalle -
109; 4. Yale - 118; 5. Iona - 137; 6. Princeton - 155; 7. Columbia -
186; 8. James Madison - 201; 9. Duke - 215; 10. William & Mary - 246;
11. Duquesne - 255; 12. Delaware - 289; 13. Georgetown - inc.

Top 5 Individuals: 1. Katherine McKinstry (Yale), 17:47.5; 2. Salome Kosgei
(Iona), Nelly Anderson (James Madison), 18:01.7; 4. Maddie McKeever
(Duke), 18:05.5; 5. Nyam Kagwima (Cornell), 18:07.9.

Delaware Finishers:
26. Julia Somers, 18:42.7; 38. Colleen O’Brien, 18:58.0; 69. Jessica
Leitsch, 19:57.5; 76. Liz Paul, 20:22.4; 80. Allison Behrle, 20:41.8;
82. Renee Gresh, 21:08.9; 84. Colleen Reid, 22:16.5.

Boxscore