Moloney, Coyer Lead Billikens at A-10 Championship
Oct. 27, 2007
PHILADELPHIA - Saint Louis' Mary Moloney and Laura Coyer both turned in top-25 times in helping the Billikens to a seventh-place finish at the 2007 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships on Saturday. It is the best finish SLU has experienced in its three years as a member of the A-10. The men's squad turned in a 12th-place finish on what was a wet and sloppy course at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia. Moloney covered the 5K track in a time of 19:30, which was good for 18th overall. Coyer finished eight seconds later at 19:38, 21st overall. Molly Burke was the third Billiken finisher at 20:25, 43rd place overall. Lauren Verzal followed with a time of 20:28 (46th), while Sara Fraley rounded out the top 50 with a mark of 20:24. Amanda Labuz (63rd/20:49) and Laura Peabody (76th/21:00) ran in the middle of the 136 runner field. Brigette Schutzman, who came into the weekend with the Bills' third-best time, was a late scratch due to illness. "We continued our trend of improvement on the women's side, as this is the best finish we have ever had at the A-10 Championships," Billiken interim head coach Jon Bell said. "Molly Burke stepped up in the absence of Brigette Schutzman and ran a great race."
Steve Vargas led the men's team with a 32nd-place time of 26:49. Neal Rodrigues was the surprise second finisher for the Bills, crossing the 8K finish line in a time of 27:37. Mat Stuber followed with a time of 27:57 (79th), and Brian Holdmeyer crossed in 28:12 (88th). Rounding out the Billiken finishers were Tim Hamilton (29:24), Scott Vicker (29:29) and Greg Orf (30:21). "I'm a little disappointed, because I think the men's team is better than what was shown today," Bell said. "Granted, the conditions were poor, but we can't use that as an excuse. The best thing we can do now is chalk this one up and get back on track as we prepare for the NCAA Midwest Regional in two weeks." As expected, La Salle claimed both the men's and women's team titles. Christina De Rosa of Massachusetts was the women's individual champion, crossing seven seconds ahead of the nearest competitor at 18:27. Duquesne's Tom Slosky won the men's race with a time of 25:39. Next up for the Billikens is the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 10. SLU will send a select group of runners to the event, which will be held at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. |
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