University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
   Men's and Women's Cross Country  

Stories & Highlights
2008 season 

Devils Record Best Finish Ever at NCAA Regionals (11/9/08)

Three of the Devils top five runners recorded personal best times as the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia men's cross country team recorded their best finish ever at the NCAA East Regional competition, placing 16th amongst the 28 schools with competitors on Sunday at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

Competing for the first time ever against schools from the Northeast-10 and East Coast Conferences at an NCAA Regional, the Devils scored 443 points, three behind 15th place Dowling College. USP's two CACC rivals, Felician College and Philadelphia University placed eighth and tenth respectively.

Crossing the finish line first for the Devils was All-CACC sophomore Pete Grant (St. Joseph Prep HS/ Springfield, Pa.). Grant completed the 10,000-meter course in 34:52.4, setting a personal record in the process while finishing in 66th place. Grant's time is also a school record time for a 10K cross country race, 26 seconds better than teammate Nick Willey's time of 35:18 set back in 2006.

Willey (Shenendehowa HS/Clifton Park, N.Y.) also bettered his old record time in Sunday's race, finishing 74th overall with a personal-record time of 35:06.3. USP's third finisher, freshman Nick DeAngelis (Lancaster Catholic HS/New Holland, Pa.) also set a personal record in the race, finishing 92nd with a time of 35:52.7. DeAngelis' time is the 5th fastest 10K time by a USP cross country runner.

Rounding out the Devils top five were sophomores Marty Farrell (Monsignor Bonnor HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Steve Maylie (Springfield (Delco) HS/Springfield, Pa.). Farrell finished 102nd overall with a time of 36:44.4 while Maylie was 122nd with a time of 37:58.7

Just 7/10 of a second behind Maylie was freshman Georgiy Polyak (Delaware Valley HS/ Dingman's Ferry, Pa.). Polyak finished 124th with a time of 37:59.4. Freshman Tuynh Nguyen (Montgomery Blair HS/Silver Spring, Md.) rounded out the Devils competitors with a time of 38:41.2 and finishing in 135th place. Both Polyak and Nguyen's times were personal records.

Sunday's race concluded the 2008 men's cross country season for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. The Devils recorded top ten finishes in all five regular season races, extended their regular season streak of top-ten finishes to 24 straight meets, dating back to the 2004 season. USP also recorded their best finish ever in the CACC championship meet, taking second place two weeks ago and placing four runners on the All-Conference team, another first for the program.

Women Finish 19th at NCAA Cross Country Regionals (11/9/08)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team had four of their seven runners record personal records as they finished in 19th place at the NCAA East Regional Sunday at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

USP scored 538 points, 34 behind 18th place Nyack College (504). Philadelphia University was the top CACC school, finishing in 6th place with 172 points. Georgian Court was eighth with 245 points. USP's 19th place finish was their best placing since finishing 16th at the 2005 meet.

All-CACC junior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) was the first runner for USP to cross the finish line, completing the 6,000-meter course in 26:52.2 to finish in 101st place. Freshman Kim Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.) followed in 113th place with a time of 27:21.0. Right behind Brown was sophomore Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.), finishing in 115 place with a time of 27:28.1. Dargay's time was a personal record.

Rounding out the Devils top five were freshman Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) and Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.). Hamm finished in 28:04.3 (125th place) while Kaminski was nine seconds behind her with a time of 28:13.3 (128th place). Both Hamm's and Kaminski's times were personal records.

USP's sixth runner rounded out the Devils four runner's setting personal records. Freshman Unicel-Anne Flores (McNair Academy/Jersey City, N.J.) finished in 140th place with a time of 29:08.4. Junior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) rounded out the Devils seven competitors, placing 15oth overall with a time of 30:03.6

Sunday's race concluded the 2008 women's cross country season for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. The Devils recorded top ten finishes in four of their five regular season races and recorded a sixth place finish at the CACC Championship. The women's cross country team has now recorded top 10 finished in 29 of 30 regular season meets going back to the 2003 season. A women's cross country runners has also earned All-Conference honors in eight of the nine seasons since cross country's inception as a conference sport in 2000.

Four Runners Earn All-Conference Honors as Devils Place Second at CACC Championship

Four runners from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia men's cross country team earned All Conference honors as the Devils recorded a second place finish at Saturday's Central atlantic Collegiate Conference Championships at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

USP scored 55 points, 19 behind CACC Champion Felician College (34 points) who have won the title for the fifth consecutive year. The Devils second place finish is the best finish ever by a USP squad at the CACC Championship, bettering last year's third place effort.

Earning all conference honors were sophomore Pete Grant (St. Joseph Prep HS/ Springfield, Pa.), senior Nick Willey (Shenendehowa HS/Clifton Park, N.Y.), freshman Nick DeAngelis (Lancaster Catholic HS/New Holland, Pa.) and junior Matt Willard (Cardinal O’Hara HS/Broomall, Pa.). Grant finished in sixth place overall with a personal best time of 27:50.24. Willey finished eighth overall with a time of 27:54.09, his best time of the season. Right behind Willey was DeAngelis in ninth place with a personal best time of 27:56.45. Willard rounds out the Devils All-Conference honorees with a 12th place finish and a time of 28:07.60. The top 15 finishers in the race are named to the All-Conference team. Willard and Willey have both earned all-conference honors three times while this is the first time Grant and DeAngelis have gotten All-CACC honors. The four All-CACC runners is the most ever earned in one season by the Devils. Only CACC Champion Felician College placed more runners on the All-CACC Team this year.

Rounding out the Devils top seven runners were sophomores Marty Farrell (Monsignor Bonnor HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Steve Maylie (Springfield (Delco) HS/Springfield, Pa.) and freshman Tuynh Nguyen (Montgomery Blair HS/Silver Spring, Md.). Farrell finished in 20th place overall with a time of 28:45.72. Nguyen, was 32nd overall with a time of 29:59.70 while Maylie placed 35th with a time of 30:23.70.

Next up for the Men's cross country squad will be the NCAA East Regionals on Sunday, November 9, 2008 at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

Crawford Earns All-Conference as Devils Finish Sixth at CACC Championships (10/25/08)

Beth Crawford earned her first ever All-Conference honor as the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team placed sixth at Saturday's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championships at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

USP scored 153 points, 30 behind 5th place Nyack College. Philadelphia University won the team title with 47 points. Georgian Court University was runner up with 61 points.

Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.), a junior, ran the fastest 5,000-meter time of her college career on Saturday, 21:05.74, placing 11th overall. The top 15 runners in the race earn All-Conference recognition.

USP's second finisher, sophomore Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.), also ran a collegiate personal best, placing 32nd overall with a time of 22:37.46. Two places behind Dargay was freshman Kim Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.), finishing with a time of 22:48.78. In 38th place was freshman Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) who finished in 23:24.86.

Rounding out USP's top seven runners were junior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) and freshmen Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) and Unicel-Anne Flores (McNair Academy/Jersey City, N.J.). Kaminski was 42nd overall with a time of 23:45.02. Verbyla was 43rd, just one second slower (23:46.12) while posting her best time of the season. Flores was 53rd overall with a time of 25:08.

Next up for the Women's Cross Country squad will be the NCAA East Regionals on Sunday, November 9, 2008 at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

Devils Place Sixth at Cabrini Invitational (10/12/08)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia men’s cross country team had five runners finish in 28:31 or better for the first time in 27 years as they finished in sixth place at the competitive Cabrini Invitational at Belmont Plateau on Saturday.

The Devils finished with 182 points, 32 behind fifth place Rutgers-Camden and 34 behind Philadelphia University. Ramapo College finished first with 40 points, placing four runners in the top ten overall. Felician College was second with 72 points and Haverford College third with 80 points.

Junior Matt Willard (Cardinal O’Hara HS/Broomall, Pa.) was the top USP finisher, placing 25th overall with a time of 27:48.05. Freshman Nick DeAngelis (Lancaster Catholic HS/New Holland, Pa.) was the next finisher for the Devils, running his fastest time of the season at 28:13.48 and placing 38th overall. Right behind DeAngelis was sophomore Pete Grant (St. Joseph Prep HS/ Springfield, Pa.). Grant’s time of 28:13.81 was a personal record.

Senior Nick Willey (Shenendehowa HS/Clifton Park, N.Y.) was the fourth USP finisher, placing 43rd with a time of 28:20.18. Rounding out the Devils top five was sophomore Marty Farrell (Monsignor Bonnor HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.). Farrell also set a personal record with a time of 28:30.89.

The five USP runners finishing under 28:31 is the first time a Devils team has done this since the 1981 season when their top five finished in under 28 minutes on a flat 4.9 mile course in a tri-match hosted by Lincoln University.

Freshmen Tuynh Nguyen (Montgomery Blair HS/Silver Spring, Md.) and Georgiy Polyak (Delaware Valley HS/ Dingman's Ferry, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top seven. Nguyen finished in 69th place with a time of 29:53.99 while Polyak was 83rd overall with a time of 30:26.29, a personal record. A fifth USP runner, freshman Anthony Dezii (Haddon Township HS/Westmont, N.J.) also set a personal record with a time of 34:46.42.

The Devils return to action in two weeks when they compete at the Central Atlantic collegiate Conference championships on October 25, 2008 at Belmont Plateau. The women’s race starts at 3:00 p.m. with the men to follow around 3:45 p.m.

USP Women Ninth at Cabrini Invitational (10/12/08)

Junior Beth Crawford ran the fastest 5,000-meter time of her career as the University of the Sciences women’s cross country team placed ninth at Saturday’s Cabrini Invitational at Belmont Plateau.

The Devils finished with 270 points. Georgian Court University was the top varsity team with 79 points while Felician College had 98. Penn State University’s club team had 68 points.

Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) completed the 5,000-meter course in 21:12.05, 67 seconds faster than her previous best time of 22:29.07 set two weeks ago at the Belmont Classic. Her effort was good enough for 27th place overall.
Next to cross the finish line for the Devils was freshman Kimberly Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.). Brown finished in 55th place overall with a time of 22:24.99. USP’s next two finishers also set personal records in the race. Freshman Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) was 69th overall with a time of 22:57.84. Fellow freshman Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) was 74th overall with a time of 23:08.05. Sophomore Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top five with a time of 24:19.18.

Junior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) (24:29) and sophomore Colleen Christian (Central Bucks South HS/Warrington, Pa.) (26:06) rounded out USP’s finishers.

The Devils return to action in two weeks when they compete at the Central Atlantic collegiate Conference championships on October 25, 2008 at Belmont Plateau. The women’s race starts at 3:00 p.m. with the men to follow around 3:45 p.m.

Devils Take Third at Belmont Classic (9/28/08)

For the fourth consecutive week, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia men’s cross country team recorded a top five place finish in the meet they were competing in. Saturday’s meet was the Belmont Classic at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

USP scored a total of 102 points to finish third amongst the 23 schools with competitors at the meet. Philadelphia University was second with 88 points and Felician College was first with 51 points.

Leading the way for the Devils was senior captain Nick Willey (Shenendehowa HS/Clifton Park, N.Y.). Willey completed the 8,000 meter Belmont course in 27:57.33 to finish in eighth place overall. His time was also the eighth fastest 8K time ever run by a USP runner on the current Belmont course.

Junior Matt Willard (Cardinal O’Hara HS/Broomall, Pa.) was the second Devil to cross the line, finishing in 14th place with a time of 28:25.89. Two other USP runners also finished in the top 20 overall. Sophomore Pete Grant (St. Joseph Prep HS/ Springfield, Pa.) was 19th with a time of 28:34.84 and freshman Nick DeAngelis (Lancaster Catholic HS/New Holland, Pa.) was 20th with a time of 28:40.06. Sophomore Marty Farrell (Monsignor Bonnor HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) rounded out USP’s top five finishers with a time of 29:49.71, finishing in 41st place overall.

In 50th place was freshman Tuynh Nguyen (Montgomery Blair HS/Silver Spring, Md.) with a time of 30:17.39. Sophomore Steve Maylie (Springfield (Delco) HS/Springfield, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top seven with a time of 31:25.22, fast enough for 71st place out of the 167 runners competing.

The Devils return to action on Saturday, October 11, 2008 when they compete at the Cabrini Invitational at Belmont Plateau.

Women’s Harriers Struggle to a Tenth Place Finish at Belmont Classic (9/28/08)

Illness and injuries limited the USP women’s cross country team to five finishers at Saturday’s Belmont Classic race at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia as the Devils struggled to a tenth place finish amongst the 22 schools with competitors at the meet.

The Devils finished with 326 points, 35 behind ninth place Holy Family University. Ursinus College won the meet with 65 points, narrowly defeating Philadelphia University (66) and Catholic University (81). Then tenth place finish does keep alive USP’s streak of consecutive top ten regular season invitational finishes at 25, dating back to October 2003.

With an ankle injury sidelining one of USP’s top five runners, seven runners stepped to the starting line before two of the Devils top three runners dropped out due to illness. Junior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) was the Devils top finisher, completing the 5,000-meter course in 22:29.07, her fastest time ever for a 5K college cross country race. Freshman Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) also recorded a personal record time of 23:13.83, finishing in 57th place overall.

Freshman Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) was the third USP finisher, crossing the finish line in 79th place (out of 150 finishers) with a time of 24:08.97. Rounding out the Devils final two finishers were junior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) and sophomore Colleen Christian (Central Bucks South HS/Warrington, Pa.). Verbyla finished with a time of 25:33.18 (105th place) while Christian, who was also ill at the start of the race, finished with a time of 27.18.85 (121st place).

The Devils will have a well deserved respite before they race again, competing at the Cabrini Invitational at Belmont Plateau on October 11, 2008.

Men's Harriers Place Fourth at Philadelphia Metro Meet (9/20/08)

Four of the top seven runner on the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia men's cross country team recorded personal record times as the Devils finished in fourth place at Saturday's Philadelphia Metro Championships at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia, Pa.

With USP's top two runners not competing, the Devils scored 148 points, 36 behind third place Wilmington University (112). Rutgers-Camden was second with 70 points and Philadelphia University won the meet with a score of 53 points.

Crossing the finish line first for the Devils was red-shirt freshman Nick DeAngelis (Lancaster Catholic HS/New Holland, Pa.). DeAngelis finished in 22nd place overall, with a personal record time of 28:47.94. Sophomore Pete Grant (St. Joseph Prep HS/ Springfield, Pa.) finished three places behind DeAngelis with a time of 29:14.53. Another personal record was set by USP's third finisher, Tuynh Nguyen (Montgomery Blair HS/Silver Spring, Md.). Nguyen completed the 8,000-meter course in 29:26.17, placing 28th overall.

A pair of sophomore runners rounded out the Devils top five. Marty Farrell (Monsignor Bonnor HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) finished in 31st place with a time of 29:32.16 and Steve Maylie (Springfield (Delco) HS/Springfield, Pa.) was 44th with a time of 30:26.66.

USP's sixth and seventh finishers also set personal record for the 8,000-meter distance in the race. Freshman Georgiy Polyak (Delaware Valley HS/Dingman's Ferry, Pa.) finished 48th with a time of 30:46.36 while junior Nick Barkley (Mansfield/ Mansfield, Tex.) crossed the line in 54th place with a time of 31:14.93

The Devils return to action on Saturday, September 28, 2008 at the Belmont Classic at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

Women Finish Fifth at Philadelphia Metro Meet (9/20/08)

Five of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team runners set personal best race times as the Devils ran to a fifth place finish in Saturday's Philadelphia Metro Championships at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

The Devils scored 167 points, placing fifth behind CACC rivals Nyack College (143), Wilmington University (103), Georgian Court University (56) and meet champion Philadelphia University (43). This is USP's fourth 5th place finish in the last five years in the women's race at the Metro meet.

Leading the way for the Devils was red-shirt freshman Kimberly Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.). Brown finished in 24th place overall, setting a 5,000-meter personal record of 22:21.84. Second to cross the line for USP was junior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.). Crawford narrowly missed setting a personal record by .23 of a sec, finishing in 30th place overall with a time of 22:33.21.

The three USP finishers rounding out the top five all set personal records in the race. Sophomore Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) finished in 32nd place overall with a time of 22:45.62 while red-shirt freshman Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) was 47th overall with a time of 23:20.50. Freshman Unicel-Anne Flores (McNair Academy/Jersey City, N.J.) finished 59th overall with a time of 24:10.65

A third red-shirt freshman, Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) also recorded a personal record time, finishing 60th overall with a time of 24:17.68. Junior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top seven with a time of 25:10.68.

The Devils return to action next week at the Belmont Classic at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

Cross Country Teams to Kick Off 110th Year of Athletics at Nation’s Oldest Pharmacy School (8/29/08)

The men’s and women’s cross country teams will open up the 2008-2009 athletic campaign for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Saturday, as the university celebrates its 110th anniversary of its first athletic program in school history.

Both teams will open the season at the Delaware Valley College Invitational in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The women’s race will start first at 10:00 a.m. The 2008 USP women’s cross country team features a young squad with no seniors. Leading the way will be juniors Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, NJ) and Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.). Crawford and Verbyla are amongst five returnees from last year’s squad who finished 4th at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championships and participated at the NCAA East Regional at Lock Haven University. The USP women’s team was also named a Division II All-Academic Team by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), one of just 99 Division II programs in the country to earn this honor.

The men’s race commences at 11:00 a.m. as the Devils look to improve upon last year’s second place finish. USP returns six of their top seven runners led by senior Nick Willey (Shenendehowa HS/Clifton Park, N.Y.) and junior Matt Willard (Cardinal O’Hara HS/Springfield, Pa.). The 2007 team was one of the most successful men’s cross country teams in school history, placing third at the conference championships and competing at the NCAA East Regional. Like the women, the men’s team was also named a Division II All-Academic Team by the coaches association, one of only 66 Division II teams nationally to earn the honor and the only men’s program from the conference to be selected.

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia was founded in 1821 as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the nation’s first pharmacy school. Intercollegiate athletics made its first appearance at the school in 1898 with the formation of a football team. Baseball and Basketball followed in the early 1900’s as did a track team. Football disbanded prior to World War I and there were no athletic programs during the war years. Basketball was the primary sport in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The time period also saw the formation of a tennis team (1932), a rifle club (1935) and a fencing team (1939). After World War II, athletics gradually evolved into a solid competitive program within the NAIA before becoming an active NCAA Division II member in 2003. Today USP sports 12 varsity teams, with ten of them competing within the highly competitive CACC and the mixed and women’s rifle teams holding membership in the Mid Atlantic Rifle Conference.