FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men’s and women’s cross country teams return to action this Saturday, Oct. 31 for the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships. The meet is hosted by Rider at Rosedale Park in Pennington, N.J. beginning at 11 a.m.
The Stags last competed this past Friday, Oct. 23 at the CCSU Mini-Meet. That race served as a tune-up prior to the beginning of Fairfield’s Championship Season at the NEICAAA Championship in Boston on Oct. 10. One the men’s side, the Stags’ 15th-place finish in the 38-team field ranked them 10th among 19 Division I squads. The women placed 33rd of 39 teams.
The Fairfield men have been consistently led by Sam Daly. The junior has paced the Stags in four of the five meets in which he has competed this fall. The lone exception is Fairfield’s last race at Rosedale Park, in which his 8K time of 25:36.52 was less than one second shy of teammate Mike Flanagan’s 25:35.75. Dan DeBlock also led the Stags in one race this season, pacing the Fairfield harriers in the 6K Marist Season Opener.
Kathleen Woods has been the usual pacesetter for the Fairfield women’s team. She has led the Stags in five of six races, including a time of 23:32.40 at Rosedale Park in the Rider Invitational on Sept. 19. Sami Carey led Fairfield at its home meet, this fall: the Fr. Victor F. Leeber, S.J. Invitational on Sept. 26.
This Saturday, the women’s 6K begins at 11 a.m. and the men’s 8K is slated for noon. Following the two championship races, the 2015 MAAC Cross Country Awards Show will be broadcast free of charge on MAAC.TV. The show will begin at 2:30 p.m. at Student Recreation Center on the campus of Rider University. MAAC.TV will also post highlights and interviews with cross country student-athletes and coaches following the races.
