By Taylor Nigrelli
Assistant Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s cross country teams made history last Friday at the National Catholic Championships held at Notre Dame. Although Notre Dame swept both races, the Bonnies had some of their best finishes in years, as the women’s team placed fourteenth of 34 and the men twenty-seventh of 36. The last time St. Bonaventure participated in 2009, both teams finished last by a substantial margin.
The women’s fourteenth place finish (a 17 spot improvement from three years ago) was sparked by freshman Kerry Caher, junior Kady Weisner, freshman Aubrie Russell and sophomore Hannah Robinson who ran four of the seven fastest times in St. Bonaventure’s women’s history. Six runners on the current team now hold spots on the top-ten list. Coach Bob Macfarlane said he was pleased with the performance of the women’s team.
“One of my goals before the season was to be in the top half at Notre Dame,” Macfarlane said. “We exceeded expectation and beat Canisius, so that was a double plus for us.”
Macfarlane also noted every Bonnie woman finished higher than the top finisher for the team in 2009.
“We now have two recruiting classes under our belt,” Macfarlane said. “We’re laying a foundation down, and all of them are improving and working hard. The key is continuing that in the coming years.”
Two of the most important recruits for the women’s team this season have been Weisner and Caher. The duo has finished one-two in each of the first two races for Bonaventure and hold the second and third fastest times in the women’s team history.
“Kady and Kerry have been training a lot together,” Macfarlane said. “They’ve been a great combination thus far. They’re going to fight for the first spot all season.”
Many of the sophomore runners showed major improvements in their times from the previous meet Friday, especially Hannah Robinson, who removed more than three minutes off her time from the Little Three Invitational. Macfarlane believes the race did wonders for her mentality.
“Hannah’s confidence was shaken in the first meet,” Macfarlane said. “She had been rehabbing her leg before, but this race gave her confidence to be where she can be.”
The men’s squad also improved from its 2009 last place finish, topping nine other schools this year. Macfarlane was not surprised by the improved performance.
“We placed where we thought we were going to place,” Macfarlane said. “That’s a good thing; it was one of the better finishes we’ve ever had.”
Sophomore Nick Masiello was the top runner for the men’s team with a time of 26:53, just a few seconds off his personal best. He was closely followed by freshmen Joe Ferencik, Kevin Sidoran and Nick Konotopskyj.
Macfarlane expects this to be a trend in the coming races.
Nick is proving he’s number one on the men’s side,” Macfarlane said. “Ferencik, Sidoran and Konotopskyj are much tougher than I thought. They’re proving they’re going to be great runners. I’m just glad they’re on our side.”
Despite the early success the team had, Macfarlane doesn’t want the Bonnies to rest on their laurels. He believes the team can compete with a lot of other schools if they continue to work.
“Now that we can compete with some teams, we have to start competing with A-10 schools,” Macfarlane said. “The only way to get to that level is hard work and discipline. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
Macfarlane went on to outline how he plans to build off the momentum of this race.
“We’re laying a foundation,” Macfarlane said. “All of the runners are improving and working as hard as they can. The key will be continuing that in the coming years.”
