AU Cross Country Takes First, Second at Mount St. Mary's Invite

Aug. 31, 2007

WASHINGTON - The American University men's and women's cross country teams started their season on a high note Friday, as the women's team finished first and the men's second, at the Mount St. Mary's Invitational.

"This is a great start for us," Head Coach Matt Centrowitz said. "On the men's side, we got great performances out of our young folks and for the women, our veterans really came through. We have improved a lot up to this point and if we continue at this rate we should be in good shape for the conference championships in eight weeks."

The men's team finished 4-1 in the head to head competition. Eight AU runners placed in the top 25, including three top 10 finishers. Senior Brian McCabe (New Rochelle, N.Y./Fordham Prep) placed second in the 57 person field, with a time of 16:14.57. Freshman Conor Sullivan (New City, N.Y./Don Bosco Preparatory) placed fifth and finished the race in 16:26.31. Rounding out the Eagles' top 10 performers was Greg Leach (Little Silver, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy), posting a time of 16:39.06, placing him tenth in the field.

In the women's head to head competition, AU swept the field, 5-0. For a second year in a row, the Eagles got a one-two finish at the meet. Senior Kate Lilley (Portland, Ore./St. Mary's) placed first in 18:50.45, repeating as the Mount St. Mary's champion. Cathleen Ford (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y./Cornwall Central) took second in 19:06.87. Sophomore Greta Wicklund (Kingston, Mass./Sacred Heart) earned her best career finish, placing eighth in 20:15.99. Other top 25 finishers for AU were Meghan Mason (State College, Pa./State College), Melissa Tabas (Haverford, Pa./Harriton) and Mary Jane Egan (Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy).

The Eagles will be in action again Saturday, Sept. 8, when they travel to The Plains, Va., for the Great Meadows Invite.