The Daily
Free Press - Sports
Issue: 11/03/03
Dieckfoss wins 4th
straight, but BU 3rd
By Brian Maurer
In ancient civilizations, a family’s dynasty would rise and fall like the sun.
For the Boston University cross country team, Saturday was the end of an era
for the women and the dawn of a new day for the men, as they competed in the
America East Championships in Albany, N.Y.
The women’s team had won seven consecutive conference championships, but the
dynasty came to an abrupt halt this season with a fourth-place finish.
“It was disappointing,” said sophomore captain Jessica Iannacci. “It was very
disappointing. Some days the team comes together. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t
one of those days.”
On the other side, the men’s team had risen from great depths to compete with
the
But senior co-captain Jochen Dieckfoss has ruled first place among all the
runners for the past three years and was not willing to give up his throne
quite yet, marking his territory and keeping his dynasty intact for a fourth
straight year.
“[Dieckfoss] has done a fabulous job for us for four years,” said BU coach
The BU men’s team had not been running up to par in the past meets. However,
Lehane was not apprehensive, as he believed that his runners would eventually
hit their stride. Lehane’s intuition was right on, as BU was in a dogfight with
However, tragedy struck BU right as they made their push to the top. Sophomore
Mike Fisher passed out from heat exhaustion during the race, and was quickly
taken to a local
“We would have been closer to first if [Fisher] had been healthy,” said senior
co-captain Jordan Jones. “With [Carl Kinney] and [Dan Coval] running as well as
they did, having [Fisher] finish would have made it even closer.”
Fisher is expected to return and compete in the next meet.
BU had three top-15 finishers behind Dieckfoss. Senior Dan Coval finished sixth
(25:28), while Jones finished a few seconds behind (25:36), taking seventh.
Senior Carl Kinney finished 13th (25:59).
“[Kinney] and [Coval] put in a really good effort,” Dieckfoss said. “They have
been training really hard, but I wasn’t expecting them to do that well because
the course is a slower one.”
Lehane had stressed the weakness of only having three solid runners, but when
the occasion arose, Carl Kinney stepped up, providing BU with a fourth strong
runner and keeping the Terriers in the race for first place.
“The front four ran a great race,” Lehane said. “[Kinney] and [Coval] really
stepped it up and did something they haven’t done and it really made it a fight
to the finish.”
Although the men’s team slid down a spot this year, as they tied for second
last year in the conference championship, the team seemed to stumble out of the
gate a bit this season, and have just recently caught up to the rest of the
pack.
A third place finish is symbolic of the team’s resurgence and a mission that
would have been deemed impossible earlier on in the season.
“We just went out there and gave it all we had,” Jones said. “We expected to
move up every week, and we’re sort of just rolling along.”
Iannacci led the women, finishing 10th with a time of 18:22 on the 5-kilometer
course, followed by the dynamic duo of junior
“We didn’t run as well as we did last year,” Iannacci said. “The season’s not
over yet, so it’s just important for us to come together now.”
New Hampshire will now wear the crown on both sides, as their men’s and women’s
team each conquered first place.
“They ran a great race,” Lehane said. “I tip my cap to them. I am proud of our
team, though. I think we presented a strong challenge, but they covered it well
— they deserved to win.”
Lehane admitted that this was more of a rebuilding year for the women. Although
their streak of consecutive championships is over, the fire has not entirely
burned out on BU.
“This was a reality check for us,” Lehane said. “We got knocked down, but I
fully anticipate this team to get back up and come back strong next year.”
While the day was disappointing, blissful and frightening all in one, the team
cannot hold on to their feelings for very long, as it will be preparing for the
final meet this season — the NCAA Regionals on Nov. 15.
“We had a rough race,” Iannacci said. “We have one more race this season, and
we just have to put this one behind us and make up for it in the next one.”