University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
   Women's Cross Country  

Stories & Highlights
2009 season 

Three Women Runners Set Personal Bests at NCAA Regionals (11/8/09)

Three runners set personal best times as the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team closed out their 2009 season with a 20th place finish at this year's NCAA East Regional Championship at Franklin Park in Boston Massachusetts on Sunday.

The Devils finished with 544 points, 21 behind 19th place Assumption College (523) and 12 ahead of Molloy College (566). Stonehill College took top honors amongst the 32 schools competing with 51 points. This year's meet marked the seventh consecutive season that the women's cross country team has competed as a team in the NCAA regional.

Freshman Kristin Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, N.Y.) led the way for the Devils, placing 79th overall with a time of 26:03.7, a personal best for a 6,000-meter race. Senior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) was the next USP runner to finish, crossing the line in 123rd place with a time of 27:28.1. Sophomore Jessica Kaminski was four places behind Crawford, finishing with a personal best time of 27:31.4.

Rounding out the Devils top five were junior Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) and freshman Vienna Laielli (Mainland Regional HS/Linwood, N.J.). Dargay was 128th overall with a time of 27:35.9 and Laielli was 134th overall with a personal best time of 27:58.8. Sophomore Kim Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.) and junior Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) rounded out the Devils seven competitors. Brown finished 145th with a time of 28:47.1 and Hamm, 150th with a time of 29:05.3.

Waters, Crawford earn All-Conference Honors as Devils Place Fourth at CACC Championship Meet (10/24/09)

Freshman Kristin Waters and senior Beth Crawford earned All-Conference honors as the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team finished fourth at Saturday's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship (CACC) at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

For Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) it was her second consecutive All-CACC honor while Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, N.Y.) garnered her first. The Devils finished with 129 points, tying with Wilmington University and seven points behind third place Dominican College. Philadelphia University won the meet for the second consecutive year, tallying 31 points. Georgian Court University was second with 61 points.

The rain and mud wrecked havoc with the course and affected the performances of all the runners competing in the race. Waters was the Devils top finisher, placing ninth overall with a time of 21:36.71. Crawford followed in 13th place with a time of 21:56.38

A pair of juniors were the next two USP runners to cross the finish line. Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) finished 34th overall with a time of 23:53.86 while Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) was 35th, finishing the race in 23:59.63. Sophomore Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) rounded out the Devils top five finishers, placing 38th with a time of 24:04.52. Sophomore Kim Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.) was the Devils sixth finisher, crossing the line in in 24:30.28 while freshman Vienna Laielli (Mainland Regional HS/Linwood, N.J.) rounded out USP's competitors with a 46th place finish and a time of 24:35.11

USP will compete at the NCAA East Regional Meet on November 8, 2009 to close out their season. The meet will be held at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

Devils Race to a Sixth Place Finish at Cabrini Invite (10/10/09)

The first five finishers for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia finished 74 seconds apart as the Devils recorded a sixth place finish at the Cabrini Invitational at Belmont Plateau on Saturday afternoon.

The Devils finished with 167 points, 14 behind 5th place Wilmington University. Division I Penn State University's Club Team took home the team title, placing five runners in the top ten to finish with 28 points. Georgian Court University was second with 70 points, followed by Philadelphia University(88) and Ramapo College (139).

Senior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) led the Devils, finishing in 29th place overall with a time of 21:50.27. Freshman Kristin Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, N.Y.) finished less than a second behind her, crossing the line in 30th place with a time of 21:51.15. junior Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) was the third Devils to cross the line, finishing in 46th place with a time of 22:44.65.

Freshman Vienna Laielli (Mainland Regional HS/Linwood, N.J.) and junior Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top five finishers. Laielli set a personal best time on the afternoon, completing the 5,000-meter course in 23:01.46. (52nd place). Hamm finished in 59th place with a time of 23:14.37

Sophomore Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) and senior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top seven scorers, placing 63rd and 73rd respectively out of the 140 finishers. Kaminski recorded a time of 23:22.28 while Verbyla finished in 23:56.77.

The Devils next race will be at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championships, held at Belmont Plateau on October 24, 2009.

Women Harriers Take Second at Belmont (10/3/09)

Three of the Devils top four finishers ran personal best times as the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women’s cross country team took home the second place trophy at Saturday’s Belmont classic at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

USP finished with 87 points, three points ahead of third place Nyack College and 19 behind meet champion Wilmington University. Saturday’s second place finish is eight places better than the Devils did in last year’s Belmont Classic and marks their third consecutive top five finish in a regular season race. It is the USP women’s cross country team’s longest streak of consecutive top-five finishes since achieving the feat in four straight races in 2006.

Leading the way was senior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.). Crawford set a personal best time of 21:08.76 and finished in sixth place overall. The Devils second finisher, freshman Kristin Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, N.Y.), also set a personal best mark with a time of 21:28.53, finishing in ninth place.

Sophomore Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) was the third Devil to finish, crossing the line in 26th place overall with a time of 22:51.96. Freshman Vienna Laielli (Mainland Regional HS/Linwood, N.J.) followed in 27th place with a personal-best time of 23:02.12. Junior Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top five with a 28th place finish and a time of 23:18.22.

Senior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) and sophomore Unicel-Anne Flores (McNair Academic HS/Jersey City, N.J.) rounded out the Devils top seven scorers. Verbyla crossed the line in 34th place overall with a time of 23:39.25 while Flores was 40th in the race with a time of 24:14.13.

“I am extremely happy with how we performed today,” adds head coach Bob Heller. “Several of our runners stepped it up when they needed to today, especially since one of our top five did not race due to an injury.”

The Devils return to action next Saturday as they compete at the Cabrini Invitational at Belmont Plateau.

Devils Run to a Fourth Place finish at Philadelphia Metro Meet (9/26/09)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team recorded their best finish at Saturday's Philadelphia Metro Meet in the last two decades as they again used a tightly packed group amongst their top five finishers to place fourth overall in the meet.

The Devils fourth place finish at the Metro was their best ever in the 12-year tenure of current head coach Bob Heller and their best showing at the Metro since back-to-back third place finishes in 1988 and 1989. USP scored 176 points, 38 behind third place Ursinus college. Philadelphia University won the meet with 43 points and Georgian Court University was second with 58.

USP's top five finishers all finished within 56.7 seconds of each other with three of the five setting personal best times. Leading the way for the Devils was freshman Kristin Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, N.Y.). Waters finished 20th overall with a personal best time of 21:30.37. Senior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) followed with a 27th place finish, crossing the line in 21:45.75

Sophomore Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.), junior Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) and sophomore Kim Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.) were the next three runners to finish for the Devils. Kaminski was 43rd overall with a personal best time of 22:22.71. Dargay was three places behind Kaminski in 46th and also set a personal best mark, finishing in 22:27.11. Brown was 49th overall with a time of 22:29.41.

Rounding out the Devils top seven were freshman Vienna Laielli (Mainland Regional HS/Linwood, N.J.) and junior Alyssa Hamm (Academy Park HS/Sharon Hill, Pa.). Laielli shaved 59 seconds off her previous best time, crossing the line in 23:25.88 and finishing in 71st place. Hamm was 79th overall with a time of 23:42.03.

The Devils return to the friendly confines of Belmont Plateau next weekend as they participate in the Belmont Classic. The race is set to begin around 12:15 p.m.

Solid Effort by All as Devils Take Fifth at Wilmington Invitational (9/12/09)

The first five finishers for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team all finished within 72 seconds of each other as the Devils took fifth place at Saturday's Wilmington University Invitational at Carousel Park in Wilmington, Delaware.

The close pack of USP runners led the Devils to their second straight fifth place finish at the event. USP finished with 105 points, 15 behind fourth place Nyack College and 17 behind third place Wilmington University. Philadelphia University won the race with a score of 27 points. Fellow CACC school Chestnut Hill College was sixth, 70 points behind the Devils with 175.

Freshman Kristin Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, N.Y.) led the Devils, recording a 5,000-meter personal best time of 22:21.20 to place 15th overall (out of 74 finishers). Senior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) was 18th overall, 17 seconds behind Waters with a time of 22:38.49. Sophomore Kim Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.) was 14 seconds behind Crawford and the third USP finisher, placing 20th overall with a time of 22:52.38.

Sophomore Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) and junior Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top five finishers. Kaminski placed 25th overall with a time of 23:27.34 and Dargay was 27th overall, just under six seconds behind Kaminski with a time of 23:33.07.

Freshman Vienna Laielli (Mainland Regional HS/Linwood, N.J.) was the sixth USP finisher, setting a 5K personal best time of 24:24.79. Sophomore Unicel-Anne Flores (McNair Academic HS/Jersey City, N.J.) rounded out USP's top seven scorers with a time of 24:54.95, good enough for 35th place overall.

The women's harriers return to action on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia as they compete in the Philadelphia Metro Small College Meet.

USP Women Record Seventh Place Finish in Season Opener (9/5/09)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's cross country team opened the 2009 season with a seventh place finish at Saturday's Delaware Valley College Invitational in Doylestown. The seventh place finish was one place better than the Devils fared in last season's meet.

The Devils finished with 228 points, 72 behind fifth place Gwynedd Mercy College. West Chester University won the meet with a score of 70 points followed by Franklin and Marshall College (71) and Ursinus College (72). Saturday's race marked the first time that the USP women had their first five runners finish in less than 28:30 in a regular season 6,000-meter race (USP has done this three times at the NCAA regional championship).

Leading the way for the Devils was freshman Kristin Waters (West Genesee HS/Syracuse, N.Y.). Waters finished in 39th place overall with a time of 27:28.10. USP's next four runners all crossed the finish line within a 25 second span paced by sophomore Kim Brown (Toms River HS East/Toms River, N.J.). Brown was 56th overall with a time of 28:03.64. Junior Allison Dargay (Cardinal O'Hara HS/Glen Mills, Pa.) followed in 58th place with a time of 28:11.82. Sophomore Jessica Kaminski (Wilmington Charter School/Hockessin, Del.) was two places behind Dargay in 60th with a time of 28:21.05 and senior Beth Crawford (Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) was 62nd with a time of 28:28.08.

Freshman Vienna Laielli (Mainland Regional HS/Linwood, N.J.) and senior Sarah Verbyla (Wyoming Valley West HS/Larksville, Pa.) rounded out the Devils top seven runners finishing in 67th and 100th place respectively with times of 29:04.33 and 31:09.56. Also amongst the Devils 12 finishers were sophomores Jaclyn Viola (Northport HS/Fort Salonga, N.Y.) and Emily Christiansen (Jefferson Township HS/Oak Ridge, N.J.). Viola returned to action after missing all of last season with a leg injury, finishing in 35:07. Christiansen was making her collegiate debut, finishing the 6,000-meter course in 36:13.24.

The Devils return to action on Saturday, September 12, 2009 when they will race at the Wilmington University Invitational at Carousel Park in Wilmington, Delaware.