Oct. 27, 2007
Results
EASTON, Pa. - Navy women's cross country runner Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.) led the team across the finish line in her second-straight race as the Midshipmen tied Bucknell for first place in the Patriot League Championship on Saturday afternoon at Lafayette's Metzgar Fields.
The Mids and the Bison each scored 58 points to earn a share of the league's title. This marks Navy's first Patriot League crown in cross country since joining the league in 2003. It also represents the first time in the league history that two teams have finished as co-champions.
After Navy and Bucknell's team score, Colgate finished third with 67 points, followed by American's 114 points, Army's 128 points, Lehigh's 139 points, Holy Cross's 140 points and host Lafayette's 230 points.
The race for the team title came down Navy and Bucknell's final runners, as the Bison owned the sixth, eighth and ninth-fastest times. Navy's Erica Ziel (So./Saginaw, Mich.) edged out Bucknell's Sarah Moniz by 2.0 seconds with a time of 22:03.3 for 15th place. With Navy needing Bucknell to have its final runner finish three spots back of Moniz to win the title outright, two Colgate runners crossed the finish line before Bucknell's Offeiba Hanson-Hall beat Lehigh's Alexis Weiner by 3.8 seconds to ensure a tie.
"This is a tremendous feeling and I am so proud of our team," stated Navy head coach Karen Boyle, who was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year. "Having lost eight seniors to graduation coming into the year, we weren't quite sure how it was going to be this season. This year's squad has kept getting stronger as the season progressed and really worked well together. We knew we had a shot to win this coming in if we worked."
Despite heavy rains that soaked the Mid-Atlantic region over the past-four days, Watson covered the 6k course in 21:39.9 for fifth place out of the field of 86 runners and was named First-Team All-Patriot League in the process. The Navy sophomore, who claimed the individual title during the Star Meet at Army two weeks ago, finished 46.2 seconds behind individual champion Stacey Marion's time from Colgate.
"Amy has been absolutely huge for us," said Boyle. "She has really stepped it up in our two major meets. She has gained confidence in herself and for the team. I am quite proud of the tenacity she has displayed in the clutch for us."
The Midshipmen placed all five of their scoring runners among the top 15, recording a sparkling 23.4-second split between the first and fifth-fastest runners.
Team captain Kyleigh Millhouse (Sr./Boiling Springs, Pa.) placed 11th with a time of 21:58.8, followed by Arwyn Becker's (Sr./Vail, Colo.) 13th-place clocking of 22:00.7 and Lexa Gass's (So./Crescent, Pa.) 22:02.0 showing for 14th place. Each of the three Navy runners were named Second-Team All-Patriot League for finishing among the top-14 runners.
The Midshipmen, who came into this week ranked 11th in the Mid-Atlantic Region by the USTFCCCA, will head to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Bethlehem, Pa. The top-two teams at the regional will earn a spot at the NCAA Championship on Monday, Nov. 19, in Terre Haute, Ind.
