Press Release

DREW BEST QUALIFIES FOR NATIONALS WITH NINTH-PLACE SHOWING Men place sixth, women 10th at Northeast Regionals FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              FOR MORE INFORMATION November 9, 2003                                                                             Contact: Seth Cole                                                                                                        (802) 654-2537 BOSTON, Mass. – Saint Michael’s College senior Drew Best (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) posted a ninth-place showing at the Division II Northeast Regional Cross Country Championships on Sunday at Boston’s Franklin Park, helping the Purple Knight men finish six out of 16 schools. Best, who ran the 10-kilometer track in 31:47, became the first runner in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division II Championship, to be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 at SAS Park in Cary, N.C. The run broke the school record for a 10K layout, besting Whitney McBride’s 20-year old mark by 27 seconds.             Other Purple Knight runners who helped the men improve on last year’s 12th-place finish include: Tom Lichtenberger (Bloomfield, Conn./Northwest Catholic) in 37th; sophomore Paul Wagner (Woods Hole, Mass./Suffield Academy) in 39th; sophomore Lionel Welch (Worthington, Mass./Wahconah Regional) in 47th; and senior Dave Balint (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) in 52nd. The Saint Michael’s women, meanwhile, used a balanced lineup to finish 10th out of 16 schools. Sophomore Kim Fahner (Westminster, Vt./Vermont Academy) paced the Purple Knights by placing 35th, navigating the 6K track in 25:04. Senior Catherine Lecuyer (Adams, Mass./Hoosac Valley) was 51st; sophomore Jessie Sedore (Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Academy) finished 53rd; senior Kristen Dinsbach (So. Hadley, Mass./South Hadley) was 59th; and sophomore Liz Gray (Westmoreland, N.H./Keene) placed 62nd. Men’s Team Results 1 – UMass Lowell, 39 2 – Stonehill, 44 3 – Bentley, 98 4 – Southern Connecticut State, 102 5 – Merrimack, 175 6 – Saint Michael’s, 184 7 – New Haven, 192 8 – Bryant, 239 9 – Adelphi, 249 10 – C.W. Post, 269 11 – Assumption, 276 12 – Saint Anselm, 330 13 – Saint Thomas Aquinas, 346 14 – Le Moyne, 387 15 – Southern New Hampshire, 427 16 – Saint Rose, 484  Women’s Team Results 1 – Stonehill, 30 2 – UMass Lowell, 112 3 – Bentley, 135 4 – Southern Connecticut State, 148 5 – C.W. Post, 156 6 – Saint Anselm, 166 T-7 – Le Moyne, 195 T-7 – Assumption, 195 9 – Bryant, 214 10 – Saint Michael’s, 260 11 – Merrimack, 281 12 – Saint Thomas Aquinas, 329 13 – New Haven, 352 14 – Southern New Hampshire, 374 15 – Adelphi, 388 16 – Dowling, 396 Saint Michael’s Results: Men: 9. Drew Best, 31:47; 37. Tom Lichtenberger, 33:49; 39. Paul Wagner, 33:52; 47. Lionel Welch, 34:27; 52. Dave Balint, 34:40; 55. Philippe Charles, 34:52; 71. Tim Milenkevich, 35:59. Women: 35. Kim Fahner, 25:04; 51. Catherine Lecuyer, 25:35; 53. Jessie Sedore, 25:37; 59. Kristen Dinsbach, 25:48; 62. Liz Gray, 25:53; 64. Jaime Deacon, 25:56; 88. Kathryn Rutkowski, 27:46. For complete women's results, click here. For complete men's results, click here. ###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

For more information please contact the SMC Sports Information Office at (802) 654-2537
Last Revised: October 25, 2002