University of Richmond Athletics
Cross Country Championship Weekend
10/29/2003 | Cross Country
Oct. 29, 2003
UNIVESITY OF RICHMOND, Va.--The University of Richmond's cross country teams will compete in the Atlantic 10 Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships at Saint Joseph's University in Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia, Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 1st.
In the first two Atlantic 10 Championships of the year, the Spiders will look to finish the season just as strong as they started. The women look to improve on their second place finish from last season while the men strive to climb from their eighth place finish in the 11 team field.
The 26th annual Men's Cross Country Championship will begin at 10:00am on Belmont Plateau's 8,000-meter course. This season, the men's team has competed well as their times have all improved and they have ran like a team recently. In the first meet of the season, the Spiders took fifth place overall in the Lou Onesty Invitational and took first place on Nov. 26th in the Ukrop's Maymont Invitational. In Atlantic 10 action, Richmond took fifth place in the La Salle Invitational on Oct. 24th and took second place, defeating the top ranked University of Windsor on Oct. 11th.
Senior Kevin Rhue and freshman John Ciccarelli have been Richmond's top finishers. Rhue has finished in the top ten twice while only competing in three events and won conference Performer of the Week honors once this season. Ciccarelli is the strongest runner for Richmond finishing as the second overall runner twice and in the top ten four times, while winning conference Rookie of the Week accolades three times to date.
The 15th running of the Women's Cross Country Championship, a 5,000 meter race, will begin at 10:45am. The women's team has competed against strong competition this season. In their first meet on Sept. 13th they took third place in the Lou Onesty Invitation and defeated #20 Virginia who finished fourth overall. A week later, they took first place in the first annual Ukrop's Maymont Invitational and on Oct. 4th the women saw Atlantic 10 opponents in the La Salle Invitational and defeated La Salle and Duquesne. The Walt Disney Classic took place on Oct. 11th and the Spiders took first place defeating the favored Florida Gators, while running a "B" team in the William and Mary Tribe Open on the 18th for a fourth place finish.
Senior Lyndsey Webber and freshman Amanda Russell lead Richmond as the pair consistently cross the finish line first for the Spiders. Webber has tallied one first place result and four top five marks, while named conference Performer of the Week twice. Russell has registered four top five finishes, including one first place, as well and earned conference Rookie of the Week four times.
The Atlantic 10 Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships are the first two of 21 championships to be held this year - six of which will take place in the fall. From Nov. 6-9 the Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship will take place. The Field Hockey Championship will be held from Nov. 7-8; the Men's Soccer Championship will be held Nov. 13-16; and the Women's Volleyball Championship will take place Nov. 21-22.
