University of Albany Women's Cross Country Places Fifth at America East Conference Championships - UAlbany Sports 2010

Boston, Mass. - Sophomore Emily Finnegan led the UAlbany women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish among nine schools at the America East Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30 at Franklin Park. The Great Danes set a school record for the third straight meet by having their top-five finishers register an average time of 18:23.32.

Stony Brook, which was ranked 14th in the latest USTFCCCA national poll, ran away with the program's fourth straight team title by finishing 39 points ahead of second-place New Hampshire. The Seawolves' Lucy Van Dalen claimed the individual title by navigating the 5,000-meter course in 16:48.22, which was just 1.13 seconds faster than teammate and twin sister Holly Van Dalen.

Finnegan, who was UAlbany's top finisher for the fifth straight meet, placed 14th among 81 runners in a personal-best time of 18:02.82 to pace UAlbany. Freshman Kathryn Fanning placed second on the squad in 19:35.40, which was also a career-best mark, and good for 16th overall. Junior Ada Lauterbach (24th, 18:28.75), freshman Brianne Bellon (25th, 18:29.82) and senior Jenn Pierson (30th, 18:44.37) completed the team's top five.

"We talked about it being a tight meet between three schools for third place," said head coach Craig McVey. "The team was confident that it could finish third with 600 meters to go, but they didn't close the door at the end of the race. The squad is still very young and has had a great season. They are much better than they were a year ago, but so is the rest of the conference."

The Great Dane harriers return to action on Saturday, Nov. 13 to compete at the NCAA Northeast Regional at Hammonasset State Park in Madison, Conn.
Paw Prints: UAlbany recorded its lowest point total ever at the championship meet, while the school-record average time of the top-five finishers was lowered by another five seconds since the Great Danes competed at the UAlbany Invitational two weeks ago.

America East Conference Championship Team Standings

1. Stony Brook 24; 2. New Hampshire 63; 3. Maine 97; 4. Boston U. 104; 5. UAlbany 109; 6. Vermont 121; 7. Binghamton 183; 8. UMBC 231; 9. Hartford 277.

Individual Champion: Lucy Van Dalen, Stony Brook, 16:48.22.

UAlbany Finishers: 14. Emily Finnegan 18:02.82; 16. Kathryn Fanning 18:10.80; 24. Ada Lauterbach 18:28.75; 25. Brianne Bellon 18:29.82; 30. Jenn Pierson 18:44.37; 35. Miranda McConnell 18:49.41; 36. Emily Fung 18:49.66; 45. Ally Panos 19:11.59; 51. Melissa Del Rosario 19:22.92; 57. Brianna Service 19:36.22.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information