XC Fares Well Against Elite at ECAC Championships

Westfield, Mass. — After a stellar fall season, the Golden Eagles Cross Country program competed in in the 2014 ECAC Division III Cross Country Championship at Stanley Park in Westfield, Massachusetts on Saturday. The SJC crew certainly held their own among elite opponents.

The women's team, recently named the 2014 Skyline Champions, was outstanding, placing ninth out of 48 teams with a score of 295 points. Among their most elite competitors were Williams College (48), University of New England (60), and Middlebury College (85).

AnnMarie Zigrosser (Bayport, N.Y./ St. John the Baptist), the 2014 Individual Skyline Champion, was the first Golden Eagle to cross the finish line in 25th place out of 338 runners with a time of 23:24.10 on the 6K course. Lauren Waka (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./ Sachem North) came in 39th place with a time of 23:41.93 and Brittany Guttieri (Oakdale, N.Y./ Connetquot) finished in 67th place at 24:24.27. Zigrosser, Waka and Guttieri were all honored as members of the 2014 All-Conference Team this season as well.

The men's team also gave an excellent performance, ranking 24th out of 43 teams with a total of 677 points. The top finishing teams for the men were Williams College (57), Tufts (71), and Amherst (111).

Brian Wersan (Holbrook, N.Y./ Sachem North) was the 50th runner out of 303 to cross the finish line with a time of 26:54.18 on the 8K course. Nick Diaz (Hauppauge, N.Y./ Hauppauge) finished in 113th place (27:57.25) and Nick Morfesi (West Babylon, N.Y./ West Babylon) came in 128th (28:18.02).  All three men were named members of the 2014 Skyline All-Conference Team this season as well.

To conclude their incredible season, the SJC Cross Country program will travel to Rochester, N.Y. this Saturday to compete in the NCAA Regionals. The race will begin at 11 a.m.