Landmark Announces Cross Country Awards
TOWSON, Md. – At the conclusion of the Landmark Conference Cross Country Championships, the coaches voted to select the Performer, Rookie and Coaching Staff of the year for both the men and women. The conference also awarded All-Landmark honors based on the student-athletes' finish. Elizabethtown men's and women's teams swept for the third year in a row.
Juniata College's senior Conor Dimond earned the Performer of the Year honors as he crossed the line ahead of the 85-runner field with a winning time of 25:53.08, a personal best. By earning individual medalist honors, Dimond becomes the first Eagle to earn Landmark Male Performer of the Year recognition.
The Eagles had four of the top-14 runners as the Eagles crossed the finish line in first, third, ninth, and 13th place. Juniata scored 47 points, just 16 shy of first place Elizabethtown College.
Nicholas Simpson finished third with a time of 26:16.18 to earn a spot on the first team while freshman Peter D'Amico placed ninth overall, marking 26:43.99 as his time to be named second team all-conference. Freshman Desmond O'Donovan just missed the top ten by ten seconds, as he finished in 13th. O'Donovan also set his personal best with his time of 27:00.52 to join D'Amico on the second team.
Led by senior Keegan McDonough, Elizabethtown College ran to a first place victory for the third consecutive year. McDonough's time of 26:03.23 earned him a second place finish and a spot of the All-Landmark First Team. Joining him were freshman Sam Gerstenbacher and senior Andrew Lesko. Gerstenbacher was voted as the Landmark's Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Blue Jay to earn the honor since joining the Landmark in 2014.
Host Moravian College placed two runners on the all-conference teams. Freshman Gavin Kemery ran a season-best time of 26:30.72 on the 8,000-meter course to place sixth of 85 runners and earn First Team honors while freshman Gregory Jaindl posted a season-best run of 26:50.75 to finish 11th and earn Second Team accolades.
Scranton finished the meet with 69 points, good for third place, the team's highest finish at the Landmark Conference championships since 2011 when the Royals were also third. Senior Jimmy Buckley picked up first-team honors thanks to finishing seventh, while junior David de Leon earned second-team honors by finishing 10th. They are the first Scranton men's cross country runners to earn all-conference honors since 2011, when three Royals snagged the honors.
On the women's side, Moravian College senior Meg Brockett captured the 2016 Landmark Conference Women's Cross Country individual championship and was named the Women's Runner of the Year. Brockett ran a time of 21:10.55 in the 6,000-meter race, finishing first of the 85 runners to lead Moravian to a runner-up finish as a team. The time was her second fastest of the season.
Brockett was one of three Greyhounds to earn Landmark All-Conference First Team honors for top seven finishes with senior Sarah Hughes finishing as the runner-up to Brockett in 21:51.66 and freshman Katie Mayer placing sixth in a season-best time of 22:20.60 to also earn Freshman of the Year honors.
E-town packed the all-conference teams with eight runners to win its third straight title, beginning with Casey Quinto , who took third in a new personal best 6k time of 21:53.86. Quinto became the first Blue Jay to earn three All-Landmark First Team honors with her run.
A pair of Blue Jays came in behind Quinto; Brenna McNamee and Kelsey Brady . Both juniors ran personal bests on Moravian's 6,000-meter course. McNamee registered her fifth top ten finish of the season with a fourth-place run in 22:09.48. Brady dropped her time over half a minute and took fifth in 22:14.94.
Maria Anderson, like McNamee and Brady, earned All-Landmark First Team honors with her seventh-place run, the second consecutive Landmark Championship meet the junior has finished in that spot. Anderson's time of 22:26.52 was also a personal best.
Liz Wedekind, 13th a season ago at the 2015 meet, jumped into the top ten in 2016 for the best championship finish of her career. Wedekind was ninth in 22:58.02, her first race under 23 minutes for E-town. Brianna Earnshaw was just off her pace, taking tenth in 23:00.36.
Colleen Kernan was the seventh Elizabethtown runner to cross, placing 11th in 23:08.12. Alexis Groce had her best 6k performance of the season and took 12th in 23:17.87. Earnshaw, Kernan, and Groce were all Second Team performers.
The University of Scranton women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the Landmark Conference championships led by senior Patricia Hoffman. Hoffman finished 13th overall by completing the 6,000-meter course in 23:23.37. She becomes the first Scranton runner to earn all-conference honors since 2013, when a trio of Royals made the all-conference team.
Susquehanna senior Amy Kaschak and sophomore Hannah Stauffer rounded out the all-conference teams with an eighth and 14th place finish respectively. Kaschak ran a career-best 22:34.10 while Stauffer crossed the finish line in 23:32.67.
| Men's First Team |
Women's First Team
|
Sam Gerstenbacher
|
Elizabethtown
|
Fr.
|
|
Pittsgrove, N.J. |
Maria Anderson
|
Elizabethtown
|
Jr.
|
|
Newark, Del. |
Andrew Lesko
|
Elizabethtown
|
Sr.
|
|
Mohnton, Pa. |
Kelsey Brady
|
Elizabethtown
|
Jr.
|
|
Churchville, Pa. |
Keegan McDonough
|
Elizabethtown
|
Sr.
|
|
Burlington Township, N.J. |
Brenna McNamee
|
Elizabethtown
|
Jr.
|
|
Downingtown, Pa. |
Conor Dimond
|
Juniata
|
Sr.
|
|
Summerhill, Pa. |
Casey Quinto
|
Elizabethtown
|
Sr.
|
|
Pennington, N.J. |
Nicholas Simpson
|
Juniata
|
Sr.
|
|
Silver Spring, Md. |
Meg Brockett
|
Moravian
|
Fr.
|
|
Hampton, N.H. |
Gavin Kemery
|
Moravian |
Fr.
|
|
Slatington, Pa. |
Sarah Hughes
|
Moravian
|
Sr.
|
|
Telford, Pa. |
| Jimmy Buckley |
Scranton |
Sr.
|
|
Belle Harbor, N.Y.
|
Katie Mayer
|
Moravian
|
Fr.
|
|
Mount Arlington, N.J.
|
Men's Second Team
|
Women's Second Team
|
Tom Fitzgerald
|
Elizabethtown
|
Jr.
|
|
Glenmoore, Pa. |
Brianna Earnshaw
|
Elizabethtown |
Sr. |
|
Audubon, Pa. |
Nate Liebsch
|
Elizabethtown
|
Sr.
|
|
Downingtown, Pa. |
Alexis Groce
|
Elizabethtown
|
Jr.
|
|
Harrington, Del. |
| Ryan Rippeon |
Elizabethtown |
Fr.
|
|
Westminster, Md.
|
Colleen Kernan |
Elizabethtown |
So.
|
|
Finksburg, Md.
|
Peter D'Amico
|
Juniata
|
Fr.
|
|
Hummelstown, Pa |
Elizabeth Wedekind
|
Elizabethtown
|
Sr.
|
|
Yardley, Pa. |
Desmond O'Donovan
|
Juniata
|
Fr.
|
|
Philadelphia, Pa. |
Patricia Hoffman
|
Scranton
|
Sr.
|
|
Jamison, Pa. |
Greg Jaindl
|
Moravian
|
Fr.
|
|
Macungie, Pa. |
Amy Kaschak
|
Susquehanna
|
Sr.
|
|
Lake Hopatcong, N.J. |
David de Leon
|
Scranton
|
Jr.
|
|
Jersey City, N.J. |
Hannah Stauffer
|
Susquehanna
|
Jr.
|
|
Middleburg, Pa. |