Led by (photo left) Steve Hallinan's (Drexel Hill, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) 24:27 winning run, the American University men's cross country team continued its fantastic streak in the Patriot League by winning its fourth straight team title Saturday at Lehigh University. On the women's side, Keira Carlstrom (Oakton, Va./Oakton) etched her name in the PL record books as perhaps the most dominant women's cross country runner in league history as she crushed the field by over 30 seconds to win her third consecutive individual title for the fourth place Eagles.

The men's race dawdled from the start as the lead pack hit the mile in around 5:10, but slowly started pushing the pace faster through the second and third miles. Hallinan went to work right before the 5K mark and broke away from a handful of competitors by 10 yards. His lead lengthened as the race reached the final mile and with 400 meters to go he was well clear of a battle emerging for second place between Colgate's Mike Hanlon and American's Brendan Fennell (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River). The AU red shirt sophomore was down 20 meters coming into the final straight and used a furious kick to run Hanlon down only 50 meters from the line.

AU's next finisher was freshman Kevin Tschirhart (Northport, N.Y./Northport) who ran his best race of the season thus far for fourth place in 24:42. The Long Island native was in the chase pack for much of the race and out kicked Navy's Josh Sink in the last 200. Tschirhart became the Eagles second Rookie of the Year award winner by way of his high placing. A few ticks later 2005 AUEagles.com XC journal writer Conor Lanz (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream) strode in for sixth place. The junior captain had been with Tschirhart and Sink approaching 800 meters to go, but could not maintain pace. His 24:49 earned him All- Patriot League First Team honors.

Rounding out the scoring for AU was Awit Yohannes (Derwood, Md./Magruder) in ninth place with a time of 24:53. Yohannes continued to impress with his strong second half of the race and ran his last mile in under 4:50.

Seniors Pat Burford (Bellmore, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) and Phil Turner (Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg Area) finished off their Patriot League cross-country careers with solid 12th and 17th place finishes in 24:59 and 25:11 respectively. Burford was in the lead pack for much of the race, but tightened up in the final mile. Turner was out in front early and held on gamely after the race broke open in the third mile. Showing that every place counts, both Eagles held off late challenges from PL rivals in the final straight.

Rob Hoffmann (Wantagh, N.Y./W.C. Mepham) used a strong kick to pass several competitors in the last 100 meters and ran the fastest 8K of his life to finish 21st for the Eagles with a 25:23. Senior Will Knox (Baltimore, Md./Dulaney) capped off his PL career with a 40th place finish in 25:58.

The Eagles men totaled 22 points to win by almost 50 points over runner-up Army.

On the women's side, Carlstrom (photo left) showed that she is rounding into fitness at just the right time, running away from the field from the gun and continuing to lengthen her lead. It was the third individual title for the senior captain, who earned her fourth All-Patriot League First Team honor of her career. It's on to the Mid-Atlantic Regional next for the Oakton, VA native who is the top returning runner from last year.

Fellow senior captain Zaia Wharton (Elkins, W. Va./Elkins) used her speed to pass a few runners in the final stretch to nab eighth place in 21:46 and All-Patriot League Second Team honors. Wharton averaged 5:50 per mile for the race.

Cathleen Ford (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y./Cornwall Central) and Mary Moloney (Bay Village, OH/St. Joseph's Academy) were AU's next two finishers. The pair ran closely together throughout the race with Ford pulling away from the freshman in the final kilometer to take 24th place in 22:33. Moloney held on for 26th in 22:42 and was third among freshmen.

AU's last scorer was sophomore Hillary Roth (Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia Area) who came in 52nd overall in 23:27. The first-year runner has progressed into one of the team's better distance runners over the course of the season. Behind her, Meghan Mason (State College, Pa./State College) placed 63rd in 23:56 and Kate Lilley (Portland, Ore./St. Mary's) struggled to a 23:58 for 65th. Megan Neary (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert Catholic) was AU's final finisher in 76th place with a time of 24:39.

The women's team tallied 102 points, just edging Navy for fifth place, while Bucknell won the overall title with 42 points. In two weeks from today, the Eagles return to Lehigh University for the Mid-Atlantic Regional where they will look to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Men's 8K Results

Women's 6K Results

Photos