Complete Results
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University men's and women's cross country teams captured the 37th Annual Fr. Victor F. Leeber, S.J. Invitational this afternoon. It was the fourth consecutive team title for the men and the women's first-ever team victory at the event.
In conjunction with the Leeber Invitational, the Stags were running to support colon cancer awareness. In addition to wearing blue uniforms and socks, Fairfield collected donations at the event and throughout the week. Early tallies indicate that the Stags have raised more than $1,000 in support of the Colon Cancer Coalition and the Get Your Rear In Gear Initiative.
Five Stags placed in the top-10 of the women's 5K. Junior Maureen Crimmins placed third overall with a time of 19:21.40 while junior Cate Forte was fourth with a time of 19:26.00. Freshman Stef Vickers took sixth after posting a personal best of 19:39.90 while classmate Jacqueline-Ann Willsey was seventh with a personal best of 19:41.30. Junior Danielle Renzi placed eighth with a time of 19:43.90. Rounding out the Stags' top-seven were freshman Hayley Roberts, who had a personal best of 20:12.00, and junior Michael Therrien who registered a personal best of 20:25.50.
Freshman Sarah Morrissette recorded a time of 20:33.30 in her first 5K of the season while Kelsey Murphy was on her heels with a time of 20:35.10. In their final home meet as Stags, senior Molly Leidig finished with a time of 20:39.50 while classmates Danica Ceballos and Juli Bassett finished in 21:04.40 and 21:08.10, respectively. Junior Maggie MacKenzie had a time of 21:23.60 while senior Hillary Maxson finished in 21:35.30 in her final home meet. In their first 5K as Stags, freshman Julia Wood had time of 21:54.40 while Casey Gerety finished with a time of 25:24.60.
Sacred Heart's Brianna Castrogivanni was the women's individual champion, finishing the 5K in 18:43.70. The Fairfield women finished with 28 points, eight points ahead of runner-up Sacred Heart University. The Stags' win snapped a streak of nine-straight team titles for the Pioneers. Fordham University was third with 76 points, followed by Southern Connecticut State University (90), University of New Haven (139), and the University of Bridgeport (182).
Eight Stags comprised the top-16 finishers in the men's 8K. In his final home race, senior Howie Rosas placed third overall with a time of 26:23.05. Junior Connor Kelley placed fourth with a time of 26:32.77 while senior Brian Cleary was fifth with a time of 26:38.48. Senior John Lobo was seventh in 26:42.66 while freshman Sam Daly clocked a time of 26:54.07 to place eighth in his collegiate debut. Junior Jake Ruskan posted a time of 27:21.30 while freshman Mike Flanagan had a personal best of 27:37.70. Junior Steve Piscatelli posted a time of 28:04.07 to place 16th overall.
Sophomore Frank Segreto and junior Kyle Wegner crossed the line almost simultaneously as Segreto stopped the clock in 29:12.66 while Wegner finished in 29:12.90. Freshman Nolan Parsley finished with a time of 29:32.22.
Sacred Heart's Christopher Connelly was the men's individual champion, finishing with an 8K time of 26:07.98. The Fairfield men finished with 27 points to win their fourth consecutive team title and seventh in race history. Fordham was the runner-up with 69 while Southern Connecticut State was third with 80 points. Sacred Heart was fourth with 82 points followed by New Haven (104) and Bridgeport (182).
The Fairfield women's team will head to the University of St. Joseph's in West Hartford, Conn. on October 5. Both teams will travel to the New England Championships, October 12, at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass.
