NEW HAVEN, CT – Philadelphia University’s Shawn D’Andrea and Sarah Simonetti have been named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Male and Female Runners of the Week for the week ending Sunday, Sept. 13. Rob Albano of Felician College and Justine Berger of Georgian Court University were chosen Rookies of the Week.
D’Andrea, a senior from Blackwood, NJ, finished in first place at the Wilmington Invitational on Saturday in an 8k time of 27:38.24. He led the Rams to a second place finish, just one point behind the winner, Wilmington. Six CACC institutions competed in the event.
Simonetti, a sophomore from Perkasie, PA, won the women’s race at the Wilmington Invitational, winning the 5k race in 20:27.83. She led the Lady Rams to a team championship.
Albano, a freshman from Pompton Plains, NJ, was named CACC Rookie of the Week for the second straight week. He placed ninth out of 173 entrants at the Fordham University Fiasco, running against numerous Division I schools. He finished the 8k race in 27:33.17.
Berger, a freshman from Middletown, NJ, was also honred as the CACC Rookie of the Week last week. She finished 36th at the Fordham Fiasco event with a 5k time of 19:43.34 in leading GCU to a 10th place finish.
Honorable Mention
Bill Steele, Wilmington (Fr., Conowingo, MD) – Placed second at the Wilmington Invitational in a time of 28:15.22.
Fred Tuwei, Holy Family (Jr., Nairobi, Kenya) – Won the Immaculata Invite in an 8k time of 28:46.
Anjelica DiNucci, Philadelphia (So., Baltimore, MD) – Placed second at the Wilmington Invitational in a 5k clocking of 20:37.55
Danielle Burcham, Wilmington (Sr., Bel Air, MD) – Placed fourth at the Wilmington Invitational in a time of 21:00.03.
CACC Notes
Bloomfield – The Deacons men’s team had four runners place in the top 50 at the Wilmington Invitational. The team takes to the course again this Saturday, Sept. 19 with a trip to the NYIT Invitational. The men’s race is scheduled to begin at 11:45 am.
Georgian Court – For the second consecutive week, freshmen Justine Berger, Allison Landry and Cynthia Cuiule finished 1-2-3 for the Lions.
Holy Family – The Holy Family men’s cross-country team opened its season with a fifth place finish at the Immaculata Invitational. Junior Fred Tuwei won the event with a course record time of 28:46. It is his first career win. This week, the team will compete in the Delaware Invitational hosted by the University of Delaware. The women’s team began 2009 with a seventh place finish at the Immaculata Invitational. Freshman Molly Finnegan was the top finisher for the Tigers in her first collegiate meet with a 23rd place finish and a time of 22:51. On Saturday, the team goes to the Delaware Invitational.
Philadelphia – The Philadelphia men’s cross country team had an excellent showing this week taking second place in the Wilmington Invitational. Senior Shawn D’Andrea (Blackwood, NJ/Paul VI) won the invitational while fellow senior Andrew Piotrowski (Warminster, PA/William Tennant) placed third. Also finishing in the top ten for the Rams was sophomore Tyler Dye (Hanover, PA/Delone Catholic) who came in fifth place. The Rams will look for another strong showing at the Delaware Invitational on Saturday (9/19).
The Lady Rams had a strong performance this weekend winning the Wilmington Invitational with sophomore Sarah Simonetti (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) taking first place overall and fellow sophomore Anjelica DiNucci (Baltimore, MD/Dulaney) finishing right behind her in second. Other top ten finishers included sophomore Gabrielle Dei Tos (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) finishing in seventh, freshman Meghan McAdorey (Bel Air, MD/John Carroll) in eighth, senior Faith Anderson (Dover, PA/Dover Area) in ninth and junior Kaitlin O’Leary (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) rounding out the top ten.
USP – For the second consecutive week, the Devils had their top seven runners finish in less than 32 minutes. The Devils were amongst six CACC schools competing at the race on Saturday. The men’s team was third amongst the six teams, behind team champion Wilmington and 2nd place Philadelphia U. Freshmen Michael Pecorino (Staten Island, NY) and Rob Glass (Blackwood, N.J.) set personal best times on Saturday. Pecorino completed the 8K course in 29:14.13 and Glass in 31:16.70.
On the women’s side, USP’s 1-5 gap was 1:11.87, the smallest gap amongst all the schools competing. The Devils were amongst seven CACC schools competing at the race on Saturday. The women’s team was fourth amongst the seven CACC schools. The Devils top women’s finisher, Kristin Waters (Syracuse, N.Y.) was the 11th CACC runner overall and the 3rd CACC freshman to cross the line finishing in 15th place. Waters and fellow freshman Vienna Laielli (Linwood, N.J.) set collegiate 5K personal bests in the race finishing in 22:21.20 and 24:24.79 respectively.
Wilmington – Wilmington’s men earned their first team victory of the season, placing their top five finishers under 30 minutes.
