By Bobby Ruggiero
Senior Brittany Moriarty earned All-CAA honors Saturday, placing fifth in a time of 21:30 while leading the women’s cross country team to their highest finish ever at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship at Bull Run Park in Centreville, Va.
“Brittany Moriarty had a great day and led the team as she has all season,” said distance coach Renny Waldron.
Behind Moriarty was sophomore Kristen Martin, who placed 14th overall with a time of 21:59.
“Kristen Martin really came through for us once again. She has really had a breakout season,” Waldron said. “Almost everyone on our team improved dramatically as the season went on.”
Sophomore transfer Jessica Barton took 21st with a time of 22:19. The fourth and fifth Huskies to cross the line were junior Kristie Gagnon, who took 31st in 22:51 and sophomore Jill Buck, who placed 35th in 23 minutes flat.
The squad finished with 95 total team points, which was good enough for fourth overall. The winners of the meet were William ‘ Mary, who finished with 27 team points behind the day’s first place runner Emily Anderson, who ran a time of 21:02. James Madison took second on the day with 71 team points. Georgia State was third with 83 points, followed by Northeastern (95), Delaware (109), UNC Wilmington (154), Towson (178), Virginia Commonwealth (274), Hofstra (285) and George Mason (293).
The men’s cross country team also competed this weekend at the CAA Championship, placing sixth overall in a field of eight teams.
Leading the way for the Huskies was the freshman duo of Teddy Vrountas and Sebastian Putzeys. Vrountas finished in 25:27, good enough for 18th overall, while Putzeys placed 39th in 26:24.
Finishing third for the squad was sophomore Joe Siravo, who finished 47th in 27:06.
“Teddy Vrountas, Sebastian Putzeys and Joe Siravo had their best races of the season,” Waldron said.
Behind Siravo was junior Dan Clayton, who placed 59th in 27:38 and fellow junior Bryan Brunelli, who placed 60th in 27:43.
Waldron said the youth of his squad this season gives reason to believe that there will be much improvement with next year’s team.
“We return everyone and will get back a couple of people who were redshirted next year, in addition to some top recruits,” he said. “This year was definitely a learning experience for the guys; our top two runners were freshmen, so it was their first cross country championship. Next year, they’ll have a better idea of what to expect, and with that will come the expectations of a better finish.”
William ‘ Mary was also the champions in the men’s race, finishing with 20 team points. Remarkably, the Tribe had 10 of the top 13 finishers. The Huskies’ 176 team points was good enough for sixth overall, their best finish since joining the CAA in 2005.
Both squads will be back in action Nov. 15 for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at Van Courtland Park in the Bronx, N.Y. Waldron said the girls will be looking to finish in the top 10.
