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Nov. 14, 2002

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. The American University men’s and women’s cross country teams, who claimed the 2002 Patriot League Cross Country titles, placed a League-best 10 student-athletes on the Patriot League Men’s and Women’s All-League first-team.

Leading the list of Eagles honorees is 2002 Patriot League Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Meet Samia Akbar. The senior completed the individual race in course-record fashion with a time of 21:53.72. She was followed by teammates Jen Baclawski, who was third, Keira Carlstrom, who crossed the finish line fourth and Whitney McNees, the ninth-place finisher.

The AU men placed six runners on the All-League first-team and one on the second-team squad. The top Eagle finisher on the men’s side at the PL Championship was Matt Seymour, who came in second with a time of 25:51.81. Seymour was followed closely by Matt Cooke and Sean Duffy, who were fourth and fifth, respectively. Frank Malpigli led a pack of three AU runners, including Pat MacAdie and track & field All-American Sean O’Brien, across the line in the eighth through 10th spots. American head coach Matt Centrowitz was honored by his peers as the Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year.

The Army men, who came in second-place, lay claim to a PL-best eight all-stars. David Welch and Philip Sakala were the Black Knight representatives on the first-team after third- and seventh-place finishes, respectively. Six USMA student-athletes took home second-team accolades, including Aaron Smead (11th), Eric Heely (12th), Eric Motzenbecker (13th), Ahren Reiter (15th), Seth Chappell (16th) and Adam Patten (20th).

The Black Knight women also had a successful run at the 2002 Championship, placing six runners on the All-League teams, including a pair of first-teamers. Freshman Ashley Urick paced the Army field for the fourth time with a fifth-place showing, while Alexis Seefeldt came in seventh spot. The second-team recipients include Stephanie Richardson (11th), Jill Hajec (15th), Tara Mahoney (17th) and Analise Kolsch (18th).

Bucknell finished second to the Eagles in the women’s meet, but still managed to earned All-League honors for six student-athletes. The top Bison runner was Theresa Dennis, who is an all-star for the fourth-straight year, with a silver medal finish with a time of 22:35.56. Other BU runners to take home first-team accolades are sixth-place finisher Nicki Piper (23:17.10) and Allison Cole (23:23.00), who came in eighth spot. Headlining the list of second-team honorees for Bucknell are Katie Pfeifer (13th), Jamie Gow (14th) and Kayla Halloran (19th).

The Bison men were led by 2002 Patriot League Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Meet Bryan Johnston, who broke the tape with a course-record time of 25:43.18. Stephen Schaefer landed on the second-team all-star list with an 18th-place outing.

¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ men earned a spot on each of the men’s All-League teams, while the women placed one runner on the second-team. Louis Di Nuzzo was the top Raider runner for the men with a time of 25:57.20, which was good enough for sixth spot. Xavier de Boissezon came in 17th spot for second-team men’s honors and Lia Cross crossed the finish line in 12th position for a spot on the second-team.

Rounding out the list of women’s post-season honorees are Lafayette’s Rian Landers, who filled the last spot on the first-team with a 10th-place finish, and Lehigh runners Maureen Schaub (16th) and Edann Brady (20th).

Sean McCarthy was the lone Holy Cross men’s entry to claim all-star honors with a 14th-place outing.

2002 Patriot League Cross Country All-League Teams

MEN
First Team
Bryan Johnston, Bucknell
Matt Seymour, American
David Welch, Army
Matt Cooke, American
Sean Duffy, American
Louis Di Nuzzo, ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ
Philip Sakala, Army
Frank Malpigli, American
Pat MacAdie, American
Sean O’Brien, American

Second Team
Aaron Smead, Army
Eric Heely, Army
Eric Motzenbecker, Army
Sean McCarthy, Holy Cross
Ahren Reiter, Army
Seth Chappell, Army
Xavier de Boissezon, ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ
Stephen Schaefer, Bucknell
Phil Gaeta, American
Adam Patten, Army

WOMEN
First Team
Name, School
Samia Akbar, American
Theresa Dennis, Bucknell
Jen Baclawski, American
Keira Carlstrom, American
Ashley Urick, Army
Nicki Piper, Bucknell
Alexis Seefeldt, Army
Allison Cole, Bucknell
Whitney McNees, American
Rian Landers, Lafayette

Second Team
Stephanie Richardson, Army
Lia Cross, ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ
Katie Pfeifer, Bucknell
Jamie Gow, Bucknell
Jill Hajec, Army
Maureen Schaub, Lehigh
Tara Mahoney, Army
Analise Kolsch, Army
Kayla Halloran, Bucknell
Edann Brady, Lehigh

Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Meet: Bryan Johnson, Bucknell, senior
Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Meet: Samia Akbar, American, senior
Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year: Matt Centrowitz
Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year: Matt Centrowitz