Women’s Cross Country Set to Make Empire 8 Debut in 2007

HOBOKEN, N.J. (August 30, 2007) – Leading the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s and women’s cross country teams to two invitational titles apiece in 2006, Head Coach John Crawford (Seattle, Wash.) has high intentions of guiding both his teams to finish as one of the Top-15 squads in the Atlantic Region for 2007. With a more experienced squad for 2007, the Ducks are looking to step up to the challenge of entering the competitive Empire 8 Conference.

“We are very excited about moving into the Empire 8. RIT, Ithaca and Nazareth perennially compete at the national level and this will be a great challenge for our men and women to embrace,” said Crawford.

The women earned two first-place finishes and two other finishes in the Top-10 during their regular season of competition in 2006. At the second annual Highlander Invitational, all of Stevens team members finished in the Top-20. With an impressive performance at the Skyline Meet, Stevens top-seven scorers broke 26 minutes on the challenging Van Cortlandt course. There was much improvement as the Ducks bettered their Top-five average team time by 51 seconds as they gained momentum heading into the Collegiate Track Conference regional meet.

Crawford expects junior tri-captain Sara Amitrani (Middletown, N.J.) to have an immediate contribution to the team’s success early in the season. Amitrani, who finished 14th overall in the Highlander Invitational, is a hardworking athlete, shown by breaking personal records in last year’s performances. 

“When I think of what Sara has accomplished in less than a year as a distance runner, I can only think of two words, ‘Work Wins,’ said Crawford. During the track and field seasons she became a school-record holder in the eight different events. Last cross country season, her 5k times improved from 26:20 all the way to 19:38, and she established a new school record in the 10K by nearly two minutes (41:17).”

Sophomore Melissa Franzese (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned a tri-captain position alongside Amitrani and will be expected to have a significant impact at the start of the season. At the second annual Highlander Invitational, Franzese improved her time from the first meet by 15 seconds, earning the 11th-place spot.  During the CTC Championship, Franzese finished 54 out of 82 runners with a time of 24:46 in the 6k run. At her appearance in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, she improved her best-race time by 1:28 as she finished with a time of 27:50.6.

Finalizing the captain core will be sophomore distance runner Erica Bakelmun (Wayne, N.J.). With an outstanding performance in 2006, Bakelmun will bring experience and leadership to Stevens. Having finished fourth and seventh overall at the Highlander Invitational and Skyline Conference Championship, Bakelmun will round out the women’s Top-five runners. During her appearance at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, Bakelmun finished with a time of 26:27 in the 6k, improving her last 6k run by 2:33 minutes.

Key contributors contending for the fifth spot are freshmen Shanna Bearisto (Middletown, N.Y.) and Jamie Brabston (Sparta, N.J.). Senior Dariel Stack (Jackson, N.J.), Junior Megan Tatara (Hallum, Pa.), and freshmen Donna Barden (Saint Paul, Minn.), Danusha Sanchez (Clifton N.J.) will add depth and experience to the squad.

Stevens opens the 2007 season with a meet at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa. at 10 a.m. on Saturday.