Lady Spartans Take Home Cross Country Crown
The women's cross country team won their first ever East Coast Conference Championship on Sunday at C.W. Post. Junior Sarah Callagy was named Runner of the Year after winning the race in 19:14. Freshman Keeley Bateman finished third overall in 19:25 and was named Rookie of the Year. Both were named to the All Conference 1st Team. Junior Julia Karl was named to the 2nd Team with a tenth place finish in 20:47.
The Lady Spartans have had many strong finishes this season proving that they were a force to be reckoned with in the East Coast Conference. They were ranked #10 in the NCAA East Region for two consecutive weeks. None of these accomplishments compared to today's 1st place team finish at the ECC Championship. The team made STAC Athletics history by taking the home the cross country crown. 
Callagy settled into second place early in the race. She stayed on NYIT's Jaqueline Toek's shoulder for the majority of the race and finally made her move with about 1000 meters to go. Callagy not only took the lead, but opened up a 7 second gap on her way to the first place finish. She is only the 2nd STAC runner in school history to take the individual honor in a conference championship race and the first female to do so. Callagy was named to the 1st Team All Conference for the second consecutive year along with the Runner of the Year accolade.
Bateman stayed with Callagy for the majority of the race. She established herself in the lead pack in the early minutes of the race and maintained an aggressive pace. Bateman was the first freshman to cross the line. She also earned 1st Team All Conference honors.
Julia Karl made her collegiate cross country debut and had a phenomenal showing. Karl covered the 5K course in 20:47. Karl showed a great deal of heart along with a great deal of potential. Karl's 2nd Team All Conference honors rounded out the individual awards garnered by STAC athletes.
Junior Chelsea Klinger ran a strong race and was a key element in the Lady Spartans scoring. Klinger finished in 17th with a time of 21:06. Klinger has been a consistent threat to opponents throughout the seaon and her leadership played a key role in the championship run. Classsmate Lisa Brevogel was the final STAC scorer to cross the line. Brevogel's strong finish guarenteed the Lady Spartan's first place team finish. She clocked a time of 22:39.
Junior Lauren Karpoich was the sixth Lady Spartan finisher. Karpoich has improved almost every race this season as a first year cross country runner. She finished in 39th place in 23:09. Freshman Caroline Bjorkman also made her cross country debut. She ran a time of 23:56.
"I am so proud of this team. They have worked extremely hard to establish themselves as the top team in the conference. They are extremely motivated and truly deserved to win today," commented head coach Nicole Ballou. Ballou was named ECC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. "This award is a reflection of my staff and my team. My assistant coaches Lou Maturo and Andrew Gamgemi have made this conference championship possible. The time and commitment that they have put into the program and to the student-athletes has been a key element to our success. When you have a group of young women who are willing to work as hard as this team has, good things are bound to happen."
The Lady Spartans return to action on Sunday, November 21st at the NCAA East Regional at Franklin Park in Boston, MA.
