Courtesy Erickson The men’s cross-country team ran off with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships yesterday in Waterloo, Iowa, placing two runners in the top 40.

The 2003 cross-country season reached its culminating point yesterday at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Waterloo, Iowa. Competing in the most prestigious and significant meet of the season, the Hoyas once again put up a dominant performance, capping off a string of top-notch finishes with one final successful showing.

With over 30 of the nation’s most competitive teams featured in the race, the Hoya men represented Georgetown in their typical triumphant fashion by landing in the top 10 and capturing an impressive seventh-place finish. This team performance was lead by sophomore Chris Lukezic and junior team captain Rod Koborsi who finished in 34th- and 35th-places with respective times of 30:21.1 and 30:21.2. Following them was senior Javon Broderick who added a 43rd-place finish with his time of 30:27.9. Rounding out the Georgetown scorers was sophomore Fleet Hower, who finished 81st with a time of 30:54.5, and freshman Matt Debole, finishing in 31:00.6 for the 90th spot in a race that featured over 210 runners.

The race was won by Colorado’s Dathan Ritzenhein who covered the 10km course in 29:14.1 to capture the championship. Close behind him was Stanford’s Ryan Hall who crossed the line in 29:15.1 and led his team to victory, placing all its five scorers within the top 10. With this performance, Stanford scored a meet-low 24 points to take the championship. Wisconsin and Northern Arizona rounded out the top three with scores of 174 and 190 while Georgetown accumulated 283 points for seventh place.

On the women’s side, the Hoyas were led by senior Amanda Pape, who turned in 44 points for the Georgetown score with her time of 20:57.1 for the 6km course. Senior Treniere Clement, the 2003 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Champion, followed up with a 21:17.5 effort which added 78 points. Coming through next were juniors Nicole Lee and Jodee Adams-Moore who added 93rd- and 104th-place finishes with respective times of 21:21.2 and 21:27.1. Senior Colleen Kelly ran 21:28.6 as the fifth and final scorer, garnering 108 points.

North Carolina’s Shalane Flanagan captured the individual crown with a final time of 19:30.4 over the course. Stanford won the team championship with 120 points and second place finisher Brigham-Young was eight points behind with a score of 128. The Hoyas tallied 417 points to secure 16th place.

This 16th-place finish by the women Hoyas ended their 15-year streak of top-10 finishes at the NCAA meet.

This past Saturday at Van Cortland Park, Bronx, N.Y., the rest of the team competed in the IC4A and ECAC Championships. The men’s team, competing in the IC4A was lead by sophomore Tommy anning and senior Felix Chrobog who finished in the 27th and 31st places for the 8km race. Behind them was freshman Brian Dalpiaz, junior Nat Glackin and senior Pat Lenaghan who completed the race in 48th, 63rd and 66th places respectively to clock times of 26:27, 26:51 and 26:55. This team effort translated into an 8th-place finish out of a field of 16 teams.

The women’s team finished sixth in the ECAC championships led by the trio of sophomores Sabine Knothe and Kim Malcolm and senior Rose Wetzel. Knothe recorded the team-best time on the 5km course of 18:39 with Malcolm came in at 18:58 and Wetzel at 18:59. The scoring pack was rounded out by junior Kelly Otstott and sophomore Erin Henry, who both turned in a time of 19:12.

These team performances at the NCAA Finals and the IC4A/ECAC Championships capped off an impressive cross-country season for both the men and women’s teams, who are optimistic for the upcoming indoor track season.