Cross Country Has Big Day At ECC Championships; Men's Squad Claims Championship Title
Results
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 25, 2009) – The C.W. Post cross country teams both had strong performances at the East Coast Conference Championships. The men's team finished ahead of the eight teams to claim its fourth conference title and the women were third overall. Additionally, head coach Rob Morris was voted Coach of the Year on the men's side.
Nicholas Koiyet (Eldoret, Kenya) a sophomore runner from NYIT was named Player of the Year after capturing a first place finish in the field of 61 runners. Koiyet paced the men with a time of 27:11.80.
The Pioneers boasted three top ten finishers as f
reshman Christian Altamura (Seaford, N.Y.) crossed the finish line first for the Pioneers at 27 minutes, 53.40 seconds and was third while freshman teammate Matthew O'Keefe (East Rockaway, N.Y.) placed fifth at 28:28.30. Graduate Vince Giambanco (Muttontown, N.Y.) finished seventh at 28:33.00.
On the women's side, Queens College and New York Institute of Technology each compiled 50 points to each claim the conference championship. NYIT freshman Jeptui Cherutich (Ravine, Kenya) crossed first out of a field of 54 runners at 18:42.00.
Freshman
Caitlin Smith (Levittown, N.Y.) was the first C.W. Post harrier to finish at 21:12.50 and senior teammate
Kristen Sweeney (Kennebunkport, Maine) was ninth overall at 21:20.20. Senior
Erin Lusenskas (East Atlantic Beach, N.Y.) was 11th overall at 21:10.40 and freshman
Katherine Wilkens (Woodbury, N.Y.) was 12th at 22:15.10.
Seven Pioneers were honored as ECC All-Conference team selections after the conclusion of the race. On the men's side, Altamura and O'Keefe earned first team nods, while Giambanco and freshman #David Johnson# (Flushing, N.Y.) were selected to the All-Conference second team. Smith represented the Pioneer women as an All-Conference first team pick, while Lusenskas, Sweeney, and Wilkens earned Second Team honors.
Head Coaches Valmore Holt (NYIT) and Greg Welch (Queens) were declared ECC Women's Cross Country Co-Coaches of the Year. This marks the first cross country conference title for both programs.
Men's Cross Country All
-Conference First Team
Name (Time)
Nicholas Koiyet, So., NYIT (27:11.8)
Daniel Rono, Fr., NYIT (27:13.2)
Christian Alatamura, Fr., C.W. Post (27:53.4)
Moath Al Kawaldeh, Fr., NYIT (28:23.9)
Matt O'Keefe, Fr., C.W. Post (28:28.3)
Vincent Modaferri, Sr., STAC (28:29.8)
Brian Bor, So., Bridgeport (28:31.4)
Men's Cross Country All-Conference Second Team
Name (Time)
Vincent Giambanco, Sr., C.W. Post (28:33.0)
Matt Walsh, Sr., Molloy (28:39.6)
Einar Brissing, Sr., STAC (28:44.9)
Jonathan Cuomo, So., Dowling (29:03.1)
David Johnson, Fr., C.W. Post (29:09.1)
Max Gazzara, Fr., Queens (29:11.0)
Women's Cross Country All-Conference First Team
Name (Time)
Jeptui Cherutich, Fr., NYIT (18:42.0)
Jackline Toek, So., NYIT (19:29.5)
Yvonne Boinett, Fr., NYIT (19:41.3)
Amber Sayer, Sr., Queens (20:06.6)
Melissa Cuartas, Sr., Queens (20:59.3)
Sarah Callagy, So., STAC (21:06.5)
Caitlin Smith, Fr., C.W. Post (21:12.5)
Women's Cross Country All-Conference Second Team
Name (Time)
Indira Availa, So., Queens (21:17.0)
Kristen Sweeney, Sr., C.W. Post (21:20.2)
Lauren Hulse, Jr., Dowling (21:50.3)
Erin Lusenskas, Sr., C.W. Post (22:10.4)
Katherine Wilkens, Fr., C.W. Post (22:15.1)
Stephanie Pere, Jr., Queens (22:16.4)
Elizabeth Weiss, Sr., Molloy (22:18.8)