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Cross Country Set to Host Gulden Invitational Friday
Sept. 30, 2004 LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's and women's cross country teams will host the second of three home meets this season on Friday at the Gulden Invitational. The women's race is set to begin at 5 p.m. followed by the men's competition at 5:45 p.m. Favorites in the men's race are Army's Phil Sakala who is the defending IC4A Champion at 1,500-meters. Also in strong contention for the men's individual title will be Lock Haven's Chris Cowan, an All-American in Division II. The top returner for the Bison is senior Dan Lounsbury, who finished second overall at last year's Gulden Invitational. In the team competition, it will be a preview of the Patriot League meet, with teams from Army, Navy, Lehigh and Lafayette coming Lewisburg to get a closer look at the course they will run at the Patriot League Championships later this month. Lehigh's strong pack of front runners will make them a favorite for the team title along with Army, Wayne St. and the Bucknell Bison. Lock Haven is also a favorite for the meet victory as the sixth ranked team in Division II. Other teams in the men's field for tonight's competition are Bloomsburg, Clarion, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Mount St. Mary's. In the women's race, IUP's Mindy Sawtelle will look to repeat as meet champion after winning last year's race in a time of 21:28, more than one full minute ahead of the next fastest competitor. Sawtelle was also the runner-up at last year's NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. Another top competitor from last year's race is Amanda Pisano from Bloomsburg. Pisano finished second last season and will be a top contender this year. Bucknell returns its top seven finishers from last year's Gulden Invitational. Julie Jakoboski was the top Bison finishing in third place, followed by teammates Lauren Bricker, Leanna Nastase and Alison Cole in fourth through sixth places. Katie Pfeifer rounded out the Bucknell scoring effort in eighth place. Bucknell, last year's meet champions, will look to outrun top teams from Navy, who beat defending Patriot League Champion American twice this season, and Wayne State, who Bucknell topped by a slim eight points at the Detroit Mercy Invitational earlier this fall.
Other teams in the women's field include Army, Lafayette, Lock Haven, Clarion and Mount Saint Mary's.
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