Women Run Well at NCAAs

With the field set for the NCAAs, the Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams traveled to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete against 310 collegiate runners. The women's team placed 11th overall behind the efforts of Hannah Davidson '12, crowned 2009 All American with her 37th place finish, and captain Breffini Twohig's '10 last cross country race in the Friars' black and white. On the men's side of the action, the squad was paced by Lee Carey '12, Dominic Channon '12, and David McCarthy '11 as they placed 20th out of the 31 teams entered in last Monday's championship race. Poised for a breakout race, the Lady Friars sank their spikes into Indiana State University's 6K course and ran their best race of the year. "I knew it was coming; they were getting better and better every single week and their workouts were progressing beautifully," said Head Coach Ray Treacy. Entering the race, the Lady Friars found themselves ranked 21st nationally, a ranking not indicative of their potential. Davidson led the Friars through the 6K course, improving her finish by 99 places from last year's race, and was the first Friar to cross the line for Coach Ray Treacy, who was not at all surprised to see Davidson garner All American accolades for the first time in her career. "Hannah ran a very smart race and used her experience to build upon last year's result," said Treacy. Finishing 21 seconds behind Davidson, Twohig was the second Friar to cross the line, capping off her collegiate cross country career with her strongest showing at the NCAAs. Twohig's leadership and experience was essential to the Lady Friars' 11th place finish. Rounding out the scorers for the Lady Friars were Shelby Greany '13, Mary Kate Champagne '12, and Emma Perron '11, all of whom will return as the nucleus, along with Davidson, for the 2010 squad. When the men's squad lined up next to their 250 competitors in Terre Haute, Ind. last Monday, they found themselves in a very similar situation as they had all year: depleted. Just when things started to look up for the Friars, they were struck with a foot injury to Hayden McLaren '10, a late season illness from Lee Carey '12, and David McCarthy's season long battle with the flu and calf cramping. Despite the illness and injury, the Friars ran an impressive race, beating numerous ranked teams along the way, placing 20th overall. Days before Monday's championship race, one of PC's lead harriers experienced flu-like symptoms; sophomore standout Lee Carey fell ill Thursday and was limited to a light jog hours prior to Monday's race. Carey ran extremely well, crossing the line as the first finisher for the Friars, and missing All American accolades by mere seconds. There is no telling how a healthy Carey and McCarthy would have fared on Indiana State University's course, but Coach Treacy sees unlimited potential for his lead runners as they return next year as the anchor to the men's squad. Also on the men's side, Dominic Channon '12 showed glimpses of the future in what Coach Treacy called "Dom's best race of his career, in terms of cross country." With veterans Carey, McCarthy, and Channon returning for 2010, coach Treacy will again field another strong squad with unlimited potential.