2006 Cross Country
News

Athletes Commit to Lake Erie College
PAINESVILLE, OH. (May 10, 2007) - Lake Erie College and cross country head coach Bryan Harmon announces the recent commitments of three student-athletes to run for the Storm beginning with the 2007-08 academic year:

Zach Adams - Carrolton - Dellroy, Ohio
Ross Davis - River View - Warsaw, Ohio
Teddy Wenz - Eastlake North - Willowick, Ohio

LEC's Harmon to Run in Boston Marathon
PAINESVILLE, OH. (April 12, 2007) - With only four days remaining before the 111th Boston Marathon, Lake Erie College cross country coach Bryan Harmon is in the home stretch of preparation for the race. The 26 mile, 385 yard competition follows a point-to-point route from Hopkinton to Boston and is set to begin Monday, April 16 with the first wave of competitors starting at 10 a.m.

Harmon, who participated in last year's race finishing 260th overall, was the third leading runner from Ohio with a time of two hours, 45 minutes and 30 seconds. This year, the Mentor, Ohio native is looking to improve that time by five minutes. In order to reach that goal, he has been training every day by either doing high mileage, tempo or long runs of 19 miles.

"It's a great experience," said Harmon. "A friend and I did it last year, so we decided why not do it again this year?"

Participants must qualify by meeting designated time standards for their specific age group on or after September 24, 2005. Times must be recorded at one of the qualifying races offered throughout the country.

The marathon is the second largest single day sporting event in the world in terms of on-site media coverage, behind only the Super Bowl. More than 1,100 media members will receive credentials to chronicle the event with more than 30,000 competitors.

"It's an event unlike any other I've ever been a part of before. I recommend every distance runner give it a try at least once in their lifetime," said Harmon.

Although the second-year Lake Erie College coach is a little daunted by "Heartbreak Hill," which is a 300-foot elevation change at mile 21, he does have one thing he's looking forward to, "Definitely the party afterwards."

Storm Hosts AMCC Championships on Saturday
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 25, 2006) - Lake Erie College is hosting the 2006 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 28 at Eleanor B. Garfield Park in Mentor.

The men's 8K race will begin at 11 a.m. followed by the women's 6K race at 12:15 p.m. The 10 AMCC teams of Frostburg State University, Hilbert College, La Roche College, Lake Erie College, Medaille College, Mount Aloysius College, Penn State-Altoona, Penn State-Behrend, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will be participating in the event.

The race will be run at Garfield Park located at 7967 Mentor Avenue (US Route 20) - Mentor, Ohio 44060. The sixty-five acre park features a Community Recreation Center with barrier-free restrooms, outdoor pool, drop water slide, All People's Playground, baseball/softball diamonds, picnic pavilion, five acre fishing pond, soccer, lighted tennis courts and a wildlife area. For further information about the park, contact the Recreation Center at (440) 974-5720.

Men and Women Finish Third in Jim Bean Twilight
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 13, 2006) - Both the men's and women's cross country teams finished third in the Jim Bean Twilight hosted by the College of Wooster Friday evening.

The men were only four points out of second place, finishing behind Hiram College (67) and winner Wooster (15). The Storm did finish ahead of Myers University (87) by a substantial margin. Freshman JW Smith (Ashtabula, Ohio/Ashtabula) earned top billing for LEC with a 21st place showing as sophomore Matt Moore (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) was 24th.

On the women's side, freshman Jess Hedrick (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) was the top Storm runner, taking 17th and sophomore Melissa Greco (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland) was 19th.

Lake Erie hosts the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships on Saturday, October 28 at 11 a.m. at Garfield Park in Mentor.

Lake Erie Participates at Hiram Invite
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 29, 2006) - The Lake Erie College cross country team participated in the Hiram Invitational with the women finishing second and the men finishing third. Sophomore Jess Hedrick (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) led the women with a fifth place finish followed by sophomore Melissa Greco (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland) in ninth place. For the men, freshman JW Smith (Ashtabula, Ohio/Ashtabula) took third as Sean Seymore and sophomore Matt Moore (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) finished eighth and ninth, respectively.

LEC Opens Season
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 16, 2006) - Lake Erie College opened the 2006 season at the Behrend Invitational with the men taking ninth place out of 12 teams and the women finishing in 11th place out of 12 teams. For the men, freshman James Smith (Ashtabula, Ohio/Ashtabula) paced the Storm finishing 33rd out of 75 runners in the 8K race. Sophomore Matt Moore (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) was 48th. Additional finishes included freshman Andrej Klokner (Trnava, Slovakia/Sport) who was 55th, sophomore Darnell Campbell (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) who was 67th and freshman Marvin Williams (Cleveland, Ohio/John F. Kennedy) who was 68th.

Sophomore Melissa Greco (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland) led the women and finished 53rd. Tovah Abrams was close behind in 56th place. Additional finishes included freshman Randi Blakey (Mantua, Ohio/Crestwood) who was 62nd, freshman Emma Hoskins (Fairfield, Ohio/McAuley) who was 66th and freshman Alyssa Bethel (Beavercreek, Ohio/Miami Valley) who was 68th out of 76 runners.

Fall sports to begin; LEC hosts AMCC Golf and Cross Country championships
(Painesville, OH, August 25, 2006) - Lake Erie College will host the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference golf and cross country championships for the first time, highlighting LEC's 2006 fall sports schedules. Contests begin on Friday, September 1 with the men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball teams all in action.

Lake Erie's men's soccer team, coming off a best-ever 10-8-2 season, finished as league runner-ups in 2005, earning a bid to the post-season ECAC Tournament. Picked second in the AMCC preseason coaches' poll, the team begins its 18-game, 2006 season at the Oberlin Tournament against Wooster. Other key non-conference contests include games against area foes John Carroll, Mount Union, Hiram and Case Western Reserve. The home opener is set for September 6 versus Bluffton. The nine-game conference slate begins at Frostburg State on September 23 and concludes with a rematch of last year's AMCC championship game at Medaille on October 24.

The women's soccer team, which posted the second-best mark in team history at 8-9-2 last year, starts its 19-game schedule at Waynesburg and winds up the regular season at Ursuline on October 26. The team, picked for sixth place in the AMCC preseason poll of coaches, placed fifth last year and earned an AMCC playoff spot for the first time in five years. The home opener is set for Labor Day, September 4, when Myers visits LEC for a 12 Noon kickoff.

Three in-season tournaments, the season-opener at Ohio Wesleyan and events at Baldwin-Wallace and Westminster, will help prepare the Lake Erie volleyball squad for its nine-match AMCC slate, which begins on September 23 against Penn State-Altoona at LEC's Athletic Center Arena. A strong finish last year qualified the team for the AMCC Tournament for the first time ever. The squad's eight wins were one more than the team had totaled in the previous six seasons combined. The team is picked to finish fifth in the league in this year's preseason coaches' poll.

In golf, the AMCC championship will be played on October 7-8 at LEC's home course, Fowler's Mill in Chesterland. The top-rated public course in Ohio, it will also serve as the site for the Lake Erie Invitational on September 29. This year will mark the first season that the AMCC golf championship will be a 36-hole, two-day event.

The AMCC men's and women's cross country championship races will be held back-to-back at Garfield Park in Mentor on October 28.

Lake Erie fall sports wrap up with record-setting seasons
(Painesville, OH – Dec. 13, 2005)- A solid showing by Lake Erie College’s 2005 fall sports teams has generated an unprecedented number of individual award winners for the Storm.

The men’s soccer team, which advanced to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship game and earned a bid to the ECAC post-season tournament, saw four of its players honored. Junior Justin Daly (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) and freshman Joe Starvaggi (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Brush) were both named to the all-AMCC first team squad. Starvaggi also was tabbed as the league’s Newcomer of the Year. Junior Brad McFadden (Niles, Ohio/Niles McKinley) and sophomore Brent Bleasdell (Plano, Texas/South Plantation (Fla.)) were chosen as second team all-AMCC choices. The Storm posted a 10-8-2 overall mark under third-year coach Dale Sheptak, setting the team record for wins in a season.

In women’s soccer, LEC also provided the league’s Newcomer of the Year as freshman Angela Bethel (Beavercreek, Ohio/Miami Valley) took that honor. She was also named a second team all-AMCC selection. Two other players, senior Keri Cameron (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) and sophomore Loni Sargent (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) were honorable mention choices on the all-AMCC team. The team finished 8-9-2, its best record since 1998, and qualified for the AMCC tournament for the first time since 1999. Sixth-year coach Lauren Ferullo was named co-winner of the league’s Coach of the Year award.

The volleyball team, under fourth year coach Gary VanCauwenberge, qualified for the AMCC tournament for the first time in team history with a playing roster made up exclusively of freshmen and sophomores. Two of the freshmen, Shawnna Sulecki (Rock Creek, Ohio/Geneva) and Tiffany Farmer (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern), were honorable mention all-AMCC choices. The team’s eight wins were more than in the previous four seasons combined.

Golf, with Milt Johnson at the helm for the fourth season, saw two players earn all-AMCC honors. Senior Travis Hardman (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Maryvale) earned a second team designation, while sophomore Justin Brown (Kenston, Ohio/Kenston) was an honorable mention choice.

Men’s and women’s cross country, under interim coach Bryan Harmon, did not garner any individual laurels. The teams did, however, each registered the first-ever victories in program history, winning the season’s lone dual meet competition at La Roche.

Oct. 29, 2005
(Mt. Pleasant, Pa.) The Lake Erie women's cross country team finished 8th out of the 10 AMCC teams at the 2005 AMCC Cross Country Championship, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
Freshman Melissa Greco (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland) finished first for the Storm with a time of 32:33.
Freshman Matt Moore (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) finished 30th overall but Lake Erie did not field a complete men's team. AMCC COMPLETE RESULTS

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS
1. Penn State Altoona 35
2. Penn State Behrend 59
3. Frostburg State 68
4. Pitt-Greensburg 117
5. Mt. Aloysius 119
6. Pitt-Bradford 162
7. Medaille 198
8. Lake Erie 210
9. La Roche 224
10. Hilbert 227

WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
33. Melissa Greco, 32:33
34. Melissa Peragallo, 32:34
40. Jen Dodge, 35:04
56. Sarah Miller, 49:23
59. Shaina Vanderpool, 55:45