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Women’s Cross Country Looks for Seniors to Lead in 2009
HOBOKEN, N.J. (August 27, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s cross country team will look to have a banner year in 2009, as three seniors will be the heart of the team head coach John Crawford (Seattle, Wa.) believes could end up being top-10 in the region. “We just got back from our summer training camp up at High Point, (N.J.). “For a few days our goal was eat, sleep and train. After that, I know for sure our team is ready to go,” said Crawford.
The three seniors Crawford hopes will lead the team are Salme Cook (Fairfax, Va.), Melissa Franzese (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Fionuala Quinn (Succasunna, N.J.). Cook and Franzese will serve as the team’s captains this season.
Cook, who has been a soccer and track star at Stevens, is an All-Region soccer player and was voted MVP of the soccer team in the past. Though it is her first year on the cross country team, Cook is no stranger to track awards either: she was the track program’s MVP this past year as well. She is currently in her fifth season at Stevens and pursuing her master’s degree. “I think that the addition of Salme will be huge for the program,” said Crawford. “She and Mellissa (Franzese) are my leaders this year.”
Franzese has been one of the top runners over the past two seasons for the Ducks, and will be looking to put some injuries that have plagued her career behind her this season. She narrowly missed making the NCAA Championships last year, as she was off the mark by a mere 8 seconds. She will be looking to qualify for the final meet as a senior.
Fellow senior Fionuala Quinn is a women’s lacrosse player at Stevens, and has shown great promise as a cross country runner as well. “She loves to run, and was stellar in our preseason training,” said Crawford. “We are extremely happy to have her with us this season.”
Three more returning runners who will play a large part in the Duck’s success in 2009 are juniors Shanna Beairsto (Middletown, N.Y.) and Jamie Brabson (Sparta, N.J.) and sophomore Carolyn Brady (Logan Twp., N.J.). “These three women are really fit right now,” said Crawford. “They’re hungry; they’re ready to race hard.”
Two freshmen who will also help contribute in 2009 are Ashley Princiotta (Manalapan, N.J.) and Erica Iosue (Bellingham, Mass.). Both women are two-sport stars: Iosue will be a member of the Stevens swimming team in the winter and the track team in the spring, and Princiotta is a converted soccer player. Crawford is sure that both Iosue and Princiotta will be able to adjust extremely well to the collegiate level of running, and expects that their impact will be immediate.
This Fall season begins on a fun note with the Annual Stevens Alumni Run, held on September 1at 5 p.m. in Weehawken. The Ducks will begin their regular 2009 competition schedule in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. where they will take part in the Vassar College Invitational on September 5. The next weekend the team will head South on the New Jersey Turnpike to participate in the Delaware Invitational, a meet Crawford is looking forward to, as it is the first time Stevens is visiting the University of Delaware.
On September 25, the Ducks will return to the banks of the Hudson for the Stevens Invitational held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The Ducks won the event in 2008, and will be looking to defend their home course again in 2009.
The following weekend the team will be in action at Lehigh University’s Paul Short Invitational, a meet Crawford says will be a litmus test for his squad and should show whether the Ducks are ready for a championship run. The regular season concludes the next week with the NJIT Invitational in Newark.
The Empire 8 Championships will be held on October 31 in Saratoga, N.Y., followed by the ECAC Championships held on November 7 in Williamstown, Mass. The Ducks will make one last trip into the Empire State for the NCAA Regional Championships in Geneseo, N.Y. on November 14.
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