Cross country wins A-10s

By Anthony Medoro
Collegian Staff
November 8, 2006

The Explorers turned out the lights on all of their competition last Saturday in Pittsburgh. Both the men’s and women’s teams dominated their opponents to capture their respective Atlantic 10 Championship titles.

The women added another conference victory to their current streak, capturing their third title in three years. The Explorer men would not be left in the shadows. They continued their team dynasty by securing their sixth A-10 title in eight years.

A-10-record-setting senior Rachel Papin illustrated why she is considered one of the nation’s best runners; she became the Atlantic 10’s first three time individual champion by recording a time of 17.41.25.

Once again, the women gave a collective effort, as Papin’s teammates were close behind her. They had three other runners finish in the top six, which has been a theme for the Explorers the entire year.

Junior Christa Plummer placed third, while junior Carolyn Lipovsky took fifth, and senior Daniele Schopf finished in sixth.

“It was cold, rainy and muddy, but the women were really focused and ran well,” coach Charles Torpey said.

The Explorer women are ranked 33rd in the nation.

It was no surprise that the men’s team’s star, senior Sean Quigley, who has been soaring by his opponents all year, captured first place in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Quigley became just the second Explorer to repeat as an individual A-10 champion, as he took the race with a time of 24.39.90.

Senior Joe Dare was not to be denied the top five, as he finished fifth, with a time of 25.23.00.

“The men had a great day. We have a young team this year, but they really ran smart as a group,” Torpey said.

After slipping from first place in last year’s championship behind only Duquesne (something the team has not been used to doing in recent years), the Explorer men were able to regain the crown last Saturday. The victory reestablished them as A-10 goliaths in 2006, as they had previously won five consecutive titles from 2001-04.

“Over the years we’ve had great student athletes and kids that want to be good,” Torpey said. “They’ve made sacrifices for the team and have really created a legacy. So many of our alumni are involved as well and always want to know about our races. This has really helped us remain successful over the years.”

Not to be cast aside are Torpey’s efforts. Without the tremendous job he has done with the program, the team would not have been able to achieve the success it has achieved recently.

Torpey was named A-10 Coach of the Year for both the men and the women, yielding his sixth honor on the men’s side, which is good for an A-10 record, and fifth recognition as women’s Coach of the Year. A combined total of 14 Coach of the Year honors, along with a pair of indoor track titles on his resumé, distinguishes Torpey as one of the most adorned cross country and track coaches in Atlantic 10 history.

“I’d rather win and never get that,” Torpey said.

Both Sean Quigley and Rachel Papin’s performances on Saturday earned them the distinctions of Atlantic 10 Performers of the Year.

Additionally, Dare, freshman Matt Mitchell and junior David Alfano were also named All-Atlantic 10 on the men’s side, while Plummer, Lipovsky and Schopf were joined by juniors Adriana Boyle and Elizabeth Mayer on the women’s all-conference team.

medoroa1@lasalle.edu