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10/31/2009
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| 2009 NEC Men's Cross Country Team Champion Central Connecticut State | |
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Click Here for Men's Individual Results
Click Here for Men's Team Results
Click Here for PDF File
Click Here for Banquet Video Montage
Click Here for footage and interviews shot at the championships
Click Here for NEC Championship Headquarters
Hamden, CT - With three runners in the top-10, Central Connecticut State captured its first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) Men’s Cross Country Championship title with a team total of 46 points. Individually, Long Island rookie Rogers Kipruto (Rift Valley, Kenya) bested the field of 100 competitors to garner both NEC Outstanding Performer and NEC Freshman of the Year awards, marking the second year in a row a freshman took home dual honors. Kipruto navigated
the five-mile Quinnipiac University course in 25:55.9, winning the event by just over 19 seconds. Placing second was the reigning NEC champion, QU’s Richard Klauber (Thomaston, CT/Thomaston) as the sophomore clocked in at 26:14.8, while Saint Francis (PA) junior Timothy Wertner (Chambersburg, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) took the third spot in 26:22.2 to each earn all-Conference merit. CCSU sophomore Sam Alexander (Waterford, CT/Waterford) and QU rookie Mike Levene (Redding, CT/Joel Barrow) rounded out the top-five with times of 26:23.9 and 26:29.2, respectively.
While the Blue Devils sat atop the team leaderboard, Quinnipiac was the runner-up with 82 points. Saint Francis (PA) sat in third totaling 97 points, while Sacred Heart (98) and Wagner (154) rounded out the top-five. Monmouth accumulated 155 points, good for a sixth-place standing, as Mount St. Mary’s turned in a seventh-place effort with a score of 187. Long Island’s 196 took eighth, while Robert Morris (222), Bryant (258), Fairleigh Dickinson (271) and St. Francis (NY) (343) completed the 12-team field.
A trio of Blue Devils earned all-NEC distinction as sophomore Jeremy Schmid (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) and freshman Craig Hunt (New Milford, CT/New Milford) placed sixth (26:38.6) and seventh (26:39.5), respectively, while rookie Mohamed Hrezi’s (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck) time of 26:59.9 was good for the 13th slot. CCSU’s Eric Blake was awarded with his first NEC Coach of the Year honors, as voted on by his peers.
Wagner sophomore Zachary Spector (Yaphank, NY/Longwood) put forth his second consecutive all-NEC performance, crossing the line in 26:44.4 to take eighth place, while Mount St. Mary’s sophomore Dylan Bernard (Frederick, MD/Urbana) also earned his second all-league honor in as many years after clocking in at 26:49.4 and taking ninth. Spector and Bernard were the lone all-NEC representatives on their respective squads.
Joining teammate Kipruto - who became the first NEC cross country individual champion in Blackbird history - on the all-conference list was
LIU graduate student Jason Lakritz (Newburgh, NY), who rounded out the top-10 with a 26:50.2 clip. QU junior John Greenlaw (Hampstead, NY/Pinkerton Academy) was the final Bobcat to make the all-NEC list, running to an 11th-place finish in 26:55.5, for his second all-league honor in as many years.A pair of Sacred Heart harriers complete the all-NEC list as junior Andrew Houghtalen (West Charlton, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) became a two-time honoree with a 12th-place time of 26:59.8 and sophomore Jeffrey Lusignan (East Montpelier, VT) ranked 14th, posting a time of 27:07.5.
NEC Men's All-Conference Team
PLACE FINISHER TIME
1 Rogers Kipruto FR 25:55.9 LIU
2 Richard Klauber SO 26:14.8 QU
3 Tim Wertner JR 26:22.2 SFPA
4 Sam Alexander SO 26:23.9 CCSU
5 Mike Levene FR 26:29.2 QU
6 Jeremy Schmid SO 26:38.6 CCSU
7 Craig Hunt FR 26:39.5 CCSU
8 Zachary Spector SO 26:44.4 WC
9 Dylan Bernard SO 26:49.4 MSM
10 Jason Lakritz GR 26:50.2 LIU
11 John Greenlaw JR 26:55.5 QU
12 Andrew Houghtalen JR 26:59.8 SHU
13 Mohamed Hrezi FR 26:59.9 CCSU
14 Jeffrey Lusignan SO 27:07.5 SHU
NEC Outstanding Performer: Rogers Kipruto, Long Island
NEC Freshman of the Year: Rogers Kipruto, Long Island
NEC Coach of the Year: Eric Blake, Central Connecticut State
