BU finishes 12th of 26 at Iona Invitational
By Mike Lipka

There must be something about the Bronx that makes Boston athletes unable to perform at their best. Saturday the victims were not the Boston Red Sox in Yankee Stadium, but the Boston University men's and women's cross country teams at the Iona Meet of Champions at Van Cortland Park, N.Y.

The men's race featured a strong field, including nationally ranked host Iona College, whose standout Peter Riley won the meet. The Terrier men finished 12th out of 26 teams in the race.

As might be expected with such a finish, BU coach Bruce Lehane thought that "the team ran really mediocre," and that overall, most of the runners just did not have good races.

There were a few bright spots, however. Lehane said he thought junior Jochen Dieckfoss ran a good race, and he called senior Paul Morrice's day a "positive development."

Dieckfoss, who qualified for the NCAA meet last fall, was again outstanding for BU, finishing eighth in a field of 263 with a time of 25:09 on the 8 kilometer (5 mile) course. The next four Boston University finishers were seniors Rob Wong, grabbing 39th (25:57) despite a mid-race foot injury, Jordan Jones coming in 76th (26:31), Morrice taking 86th (26:38) and Liam Revell finishing the scoring at 147th (27:30).

According to Lehane, the fifth and sixth spots on the team are where the team is currently running into trouble. He thinks the return of injured sophomore Danny Coval could be a big boost.

As for the women, they got a warning on Saturday. After winning the conference nine of the last 10 years, New Hampshire beat them, as well, at the Iona meet.

"We need to do better," Lehane said. "We need to gather and refocus."

The BU women finished 11th in the race of 26 teams, while the New Hampshire team came in eighth.

However, senior Sherida Bird is still optimistic about the team's chances in the conference.

"We had a weak race," she said. But she said she knows they are close enough talent-wise that on a good day they can win the conference. "We are planning on making the freshmen better."

One freshman who continues to stand out is Jessica Iannacci. She was the first BU finisher again, after winning her first college race two weeks ago at Franklin Park. Lehane said Iannacci was the bright spot of the day and was impressed with her ability to go from high school to such a large meet and remain undaunted.

Iannacci took 33rd in the race at 22:42 on the tough, hilly 6 kilometer (3.7 mile) course. Sophomore Dina Mijuskovic took 54th (23:03), followed by Bird (68th, 23:17). Closing out the scoring were graduate student Charlotte Coffey (102nd, 23:45) and sophomore Julia Hincman (107th, 23:49).

Kate O'Neill of Yale University won the race with a time of 20:36, and the University of Missouri women won the meet.

As Lehane said, the Terrier women now must look ahead, not to the challenging New England Meet coming up, but to the more important America East Championships on Nov. 2.

"We tend to improve as the year goes on," Lehane said.