Albany, N.Y. ? The University at Albany men's and women's cross country teams each finished in the top six of the team standings at the 42nd Annual UAlbany Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 18. Led by senior Brian Yurkewecz's third-place showing, the men's team finished fifth among 22 scoring teams, while the women were paced by freshman Emily Fung (Greenwich Central) and finished sixth among 24 scoring clubs. The Marist men and Brown women won the team titles at the event, which featured 31 men's teams and 32 women's teams.
The UAlbany men's team, which competed without the services of number two runner R.J. Sniffen (Shaker), finished with 190 points in the R.K. Munsey Men's Championship Race. Yurkewecz navigated the 8,000-meter course in 24:40, which was five seconds behind first-place finisher Girma Segni of Marist College. Jack Kelley placed second on the team and 41st overall in 25:59, while classmate Chris Manico (Shaker) was third on the squad and 46th overall in 26:03. Rounding out the top five finishers for the Great Danes were freshman Jon Juleus (53rd, 26:15) and sophomore David Rothman (58th, 26:21).
The women's squad accumulated 201 points in the Bobbi Palma Women's Championship Race despite not having two of their top three runners factor into the team score. Top performer Laura Cummings dropped out of the race just before the midway point, and freshman Ada Lauterbach (Berne-Knox-Westerlo) was scratched. Fung led the Great Danes for the second straight race, placing 16th in 18:23 on the 5,000-meter course. Sophomore Ally Panos placed second on the team and 25th overall in 18:40, while sophomore Kristin Grab (Tamarac) was third on the club and 40th overall with a time of 18:53. Junior Laine Sefick (61st, 19:11) and Roxanne Wegman (71st, 19:19) rounded out the scoring for UAlbany.
In addition to the championship races, several other Great Danes competed in the Men's Purple 8k Race and the Women's Gold 5k race. Zuliana Fontanez's 19th-place finish in 20:13 led the women, while Aaron Lozier (Columbia) paced the men for finishing 31st in 27:37.
The Great Danes will begin their championship portion of the schedule when they travel to compete at the America East Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1. UMBC will host the event at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Md.
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Men's Team Results (R.K. Munsey Men's Championship Race)
1. Marist, 23 points; 2. Brandeis, 91 points; 3. St. Thomas, 113 points, 4. Colgate, 166 points; 5. UAlbany, 190 points; 6. Middlebury, 196 points; 7. Sacred Heart, 222 points; 8. Adelphi, 242 points; 9. Wagner, 266 points; 10. RIT, 281 points; 11. Ramapo, 290 points; 12. Bryant, 301 points; 13. Oneonta State, 315 points; 14. SUNY Delhi, 363 points; 15. Wagner, 365 points; 16. Harvard, 404 points; 17. Springfield, 419 points; 18. Keystone, 451 points; 19. Siena, 498 points; 20. St. Thomas Aquinas, 27:17; 21. Clarkson, 578 points; 22. Molloy, 701 points.
Men's Individual Champion: Girma Segni, 24:35.
UAlbany Finishers: 3. Brian Yurkewecz, 24:40; 41. Jack Kelley, 25:59; 46. Chris Manico, 26:03; 53. Jon Juleus, 26:15; 58. David Rothman, 26:21; 68. Ian Ellis-Jones, 26:29; 86. Jimmy Caroll, 26:42.
Women's Team Results (Bobbi Palma Women's Championship Race)
1. Brown, 19 points; 2. Middlebury, 123 points; 3. Sacred Heart, 138 points; T-4. Binghamton, 188 points; T-4. Marist, 188 points; 6. UAlbany, 201 points; 7. Massachusetts, 216 points; 8. Brandeis, 226 points; 9. Harvard, 228 points; 10. Colgate, 234 points; 11. Rhode Island, 244 points; 12. Springfield, 272 points; 13. Adelphi, 313 points; 14. Wagner, 392 points; 15. Keystone, 443 points; 16. Siena, 467 points; 17. RIT, 483 points; 18. Ramapo, 502 points; 19. Long Island, 594 points; 20. St. Francis, 644 points; 21. Nyack, 670 points; 22. Clarkson, 672 points; 23. SUNY Potsdam, 683 points; 24. St. Thomas Aquinas, 720 points.
Women's Individual Champion: Kelsey Ramsey, 17:42.
UAlbany Finishers: 16. Emily Fung, 18:23; 25. Ally Panos, 18:40; 40. Kristin Grab, 18:53; 61. Laine Sefick, 19:11; 71. Roxanne Wegman, 19:19; 129. Jenn Pierson, 20:47.
Full Results
