Sept. 17, 2003
For the second time in three years, the Duquesne University men's cross country team captured third place at the 2002 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship. Eighth year head coach Jim Lear is looking to make it three out of four top-three finishes this season as his nine returning letterman and five newcomers hit the trails this fall.
The Dukes will be led by two-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference junior Ryan Bender. Bender led Duquesne in seven of eight races last season including his 10th place overall finish at the A-10's and his winning of the Duquesne Invitational. In addition, he placed 21st at the IC4A Championships and 31st at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in 2002. Bender is also Duquesne's Schenley Park course record holder with a 25:43 at the A-10 Championship last year. He has been Duquesne's top runner in each of his first two seasons.
Also returning for 2003 are fellow juniors Steve Moyer and Tim Wu as well as a pack of sophomores in Kevin Borrelli, Zack Dorman, Tim ???????Ferrie, Bryan Herdman, Jeff Hite, Gary Malinko, Jeremy Snodgrass and Joe Winans. Senior Pat McGuire is on the roster, but will not compete as he is recovering from a broken leg which occurred while running the steeplechase at the 2003 A-10 Outdoor Championship.
Along with McGuire, Moyer is the senior-most member of the team having competed as a freshman in 2000 and should be a major contributor this year after missing the 2001 season and most of last year to injuries. As a frosh he held his own for the Dukes, finishing among the team's top six runners in all seven races, including being the second DU runner to cross the line at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship. In addition, he placed 26th overall at the A-10 Championship.
Borrelli and Snodgrass have been on the team for two years with each receiving a medical redshirt giving them three more years of eligibility. Borrelli missed all of last season to injury, but showed signs of promise as a freshman when he placed among Duquesne's top six runners in all seven races. He finished the year extremely well, finishing third for DU and 26th overall at A-10's before finishing second for the Dukes in the last two races. Snodgrass ran in one race as a frosh before an injury ended his initial campaign. Last year as a redshirt freshman, he was able to run in all eight races and finished in Duquesne's top five in six of them. He placed second for DU on three occasions - the Duquesne Duals, the Bucknell Invitational and the IC4A Championship.
A trio of true sophomores round out the top seven returnees. Dorman finished in the top five in six of Duquesne's seven races. He had two third place DU showings and was fourth to cross the line for the Dukes at A-10's. Herdman was a top seven runner in all but one race and finished second for the Red and Blue at the Malone Invitational and the NCAA Mid-East Regional. Hite was among the Dukes' top six in all seven outings. His top finish was a fourth place showing at the Duquesne Duals.
Lear has brought in another fine recruiting class that could have a couple runners crack the top five for the Dukes this year in Chris Horvat, Joe??????? Kotzur, Steve New, E.J. Robertson and Brent??????? Rogus.
The 2003 schedule opens with the Duquesne Duals on Sept. 6 and wraps up with the IC4A Championships on Nov. 22. The Dukes will make visits to invitationals at Penn State, Lock Haven, La Salle and Carnegie Mellon while hosting one of its own on Oct. 17. The Atlantic 10 Championship will take place in Philadelphia on Nov. 1.
