AU Cross Country Teams Set for Patriot League Championships on Saturday

Oct. 31, 2008

WASHINGTON - The American University men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the 2008 Patriot League Cross Country Championships this Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Lehigh Cross Country Course. The women's race starts at 11 a.m. with the men's race following at 12 p.m. The men's team is seeking an unprecedented seventh-consecutive victory at the meet while the women's team is looking for its first conference championship since 2003.

Senior captain Carlos Jamieson will lead the men's team as he looks to claim his first individual championship in cross country. In addition to Jamieson, AU's lineup will include senior Jacob Shelly, sophomores Jeff Brannigan, Colin Eustis, Nick Ryan, and Conor Sullivan, and freshmen Josh Olsen and Craig Brown. All of the competitors for the Eagles, except for Ryan and Brown, ran season bests on the Lehigh course at the Paul Short Run on October 3rd. Jamieson ran a 24:16 on the course and was the Eagles top finisher. Brannigan and Sullivan each covered the course in 25:07, finishing within half a second of each other.

The women's team will enter the race looking for its first team title since 2003 led by freshman Octavia Rinehardt. Rinehardt has earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors twice this season. The young standout will be joined on the starting line by juniors Greta Wicklund and Rachel Forcino, sophomore Melissa Tabas, and freshmen Lauren Scholl and Caitlin Prichard. The women's team finished fourth at last year's championships, which was their best finish since 2004. Each member of the women's team posted a season best at the Leopard Invitational, with Rinehardt leading the way with a second place finish in a time of 21:24.60. Wicklund completed the 6k course in a time of 22:00.90 while Forcino finished in 22:29.60.