Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"October 24, 2003
Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"
October
24, 2003
Army women post largest win ever
By Todd Merriett
Athletic Media Relations
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Paced by sophomore Ashley Urick’s decisive victory, Army’s women’s cross country team placed
|
Army sophomore cross country runner Ashley Urick outpaced the next closest competitor by 64 seconds during the Army women's cross country team's 18-41 win over Navy Oct. 17 at the West Point Golf Course. Urick led Army to their third straight win over Navy and fifth in the last seven years. She toured the six-lilometer course in 22:58:87. Jim Fox/PV |
seven runners in the Top 10 positions Oct. 17 en route to a dominating 18-41 triumph over arch-rival Navy here.
The 23-point win, the Black Knights’ largest ever over Navy in a series that dates to 1986, was Army’s third straight over the Mids, and fifth in the past seven years. The victory pushed head coach Jerry Quiller’s women’s record versus Navy to 5-4.
Clearly the class of the field, Urick toured the six-kilometer West Point Golf Course layout in 22:58.87, beating teammate sophomore Ann Lee Cole (24:02.79) to the finish by 63.92 seconds. Black Knight sophomore Lindsay Hankins was third in 24:03.13, while classmate Jill Hajec placed fifth (24:14.26).
Emily Castro (24:09.00) was Navy’s top performer, taking fourth place with a clocking of 24:09.00. Mids Stephanie Patterson (24:20.92) and Erin Demchko (24:35.48) were sixth and eighth, respectively.
However, Army junior Stephanie Richardson came across the line in 24:30.75 to place seventh and capture the Black Knights’ final scoring spot. Army flashed its depth as junior Desiree Zielen-Ersing (24:39.02) and Margaret Clark (24:47.92) garnered the ninth and 10th spots, respectively.
Preceding the women’s race, the Army men’s team defeated Navy 25-30 as the Black Knights forged their first sweep of Navy since 1987.
Additionally, Army claimed a 3-
2 lead over Navy in "Star" competitions this fall thanks to the Oct. 17 sweep.
"Army-Navy is such a great rivalry," said Quiller. "Navy’s teams competed well, but we were able to put together an outstanding day. It isn’t often where we post a sweep of a dual meet, especially against a team the caliber of Navy."
Men top Navy 25-30
Sophomore Philip Sakala led a lead pack of three Army runners in the top four finishers, helping Army down Navy 25-30 in men’s cross country Oct. 17 as the Black Knights beat their arch rivals for the first time in seven years.
For his achievement Sakala shared Army Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Week honors with women’s cross country’s Ashley Urick, AAA officials announced Monday.
Sakala broke the tape in 26 minutes, 11.86 seconds, nearly two-and-one-half seconds ahead of the Mids’ Ty Rose, who placed second. Close behind were Army junior Eric Heely and sophomore Paul Strozier, who crossed the line third and fourth, respectively. Heely completed the eight-kilometer race in 26:14.90, while Strozier finished in 26:15.61, .35 seconds ahead of Navy’s Barry Carmody.
By taking three of the top four positions, the Black Knights built a tremendous edge. That lead was solidified when senior team captain Aaron Smead (26:30.66) crossed the finish line seventh. Navy captured the next two spots, but senior Seth Chappell took the 10th position to clinch the victory for the Black Knights, their first over the Midshipmen since 1996. Chappell was nearly eight seconds faster than the 11th-place finisher, Navy’s Kurt Russell.
Army improved to 2-0 with the impressive win versus Navy. The Mids fell to 0-1 on the season.