The Syracuse men’s and women’s cross country teams finished first at the NCAA Northeast Regionals in Buffalo on Saturday. Both teams secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships next week and won their third straight regional titles.

The men’s team was led by senior Pat Dupont, who placed fourth overall with a time of 31:21.4 in the men’s 10K race. Tito Medrano and Joseph Whelan finished next for the Orange in ninth and 10th place, respectively. Whelan ran the last nine kilometers without a shoe, but still finished with a time of 31:35.

Sean Keefe (31:42.90) and Forrest Misenti (31:45.50) rounded out SU’s top five. Keefe finished 15th with Misenti right behind in 16th.

The top five men’s finishers all earned All-Region honors on the men’s side, while Lauren Penney, Sarah Pagano and Shaylyn Tuite claimed spots on the women’s All-Region team.

Penney set SU’s pace in the 6K race by finishing second overall, with a time of 20:39.10. Pagano finished with a time of 21:02.40, good for an eighth place overall. Tuite came in third on the team and 27th overall.

Heather Stephens (31st; 21:35.40) and Rebekah MacKay (48th; 21:57.50) contributed to the women’s first-place team score, 11 points ahead of Boston College.

The SU harriers will compete in the NCAA Championships Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind.

—Compiled by Alex Ptachick, staff writer, acptachi@syr.edu

Published on November 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm