Oct. 12, 2004
Center Valley, Pa. -- Holy Cross senior Jon Nieskens (Peterborough, N.H./Contoocock Valley) and Colgate junior Lia Cross (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) were selected by the League office as the Patriot League Cross Country male and female Runners of the Week for the Oct. 4-Oct. 11 time period.
Nieskens is the Men's Runner of the Week after finishing 108th at the New England Championship in Boston, Mass. The senior hailing from Peterborough, N.H. completed the course in a time of 26:43. Other teams at the NE Championship were Providence, Boston College, Maine, New Hampshire, Quinnipiac, Tufts, Dartmouth, UMass Lowell, Stonehill, Williams, MIT, Bates, Harvard, Connecticut, Keene State, Brown, Wesleyan, Southern Connecticut, Amherst, Yale, Massachusetts, Middlebury, Bentley, Trinity, Connecticut College, Boston University, Colby, Springfield, Rhode Island, Vermont, Central Connecticut, Fairfield, Wheaton, New Haven, Sacred Heart, Fitchburg State, Bryant, Saint Michaels, Merrimack, Hartford, Northeastern, Assumption, Saint Anselm, Babson Southern New Hampshire and Gordon.
Cross earns Women's Runner of the Week honors for her second place finish at the Hamilton Park Invitational in Clinton, N.Y last Saturday. The junior runner completed the three-mile course in a time of 18:44.6, leading the Raiders to a first place finish in a field of 13. The Skaneateles, N.Y. native crossed the line nearly seven seconds ahead of the third place finisher. Other competitors at the meet were Buffalo State, Broome C.C., Cazenovia, Cortland, Hamilton, Ithaca, LaMoyne, Mohawk Valley C.C., New Paltz, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, SUNY I.T. and Queens.
The Patriot League, which was founded on the principles of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class, is in its second decade of academic and athletic excellence. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of the undergraduate experience. The Patriot League, which began as a successful Division I-AA football conference in 1986 and became an all-sport conference in 1990, includes American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy as full members and three associate members. These institutions are among the oldest and most prestigious in the nation and their alumni have played leadership roles in the shaping of our country. In the most recent NCAA Graduation Rate Report of student-athletes, the Patriot League ranked FIRST among NCAA Division I conferences.
More information may be obtained by contacting the Patriot League office at (610) 289-1950 or the League website at www.patriotleague.com.
