Felician Athletics - 10/8/08 MEN'S CROSS-COUNTRY - Golden Falcons Move Up To No. 7 In East

RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Felician College men’s cross country-team is ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division II East Region, according to the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings released on Tuesday. Felician debuted in the regional ranking last week at No. 8.

The Golden Falcons improved by one spot on the strength of their 12th place finish at the 41-team Paul Short Run last Friday at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Felician was the top Division II team at the event, outscoring four other regionally-ranked schools from the East.

Under seventh-year head coach John Brennan, Felician has claimed the last four Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference titles. The five scorers for the Golden Falcons last Friday were freshman James Vander Wiele (Pequannock, NJ/Pequannock Township), junior Brad Schepise (Milltown, NJ/Spotswood), senior Alex Wright (Stockholm, NJ/Wallkill Valley), sophomore Jay Rodgers (Westmont, NJ/Haddon Township), and sophomore Huan Tran (Belleville, NJ/Belleville). Vander Wiele has claimed the last two CACC Rookie of the Week awards.

Though it has the same name, the East Region has been re-aligned for 2008. While in past years the CACC joined with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to form the East, it now forms the region with the Northeast-10 and East Coast Conferences.

The Golden Falcons are next in action on Saturday at the Cabrini College Invitational. More information is available at the USTFCCCA Web site.

USTFCCCA Division II East Region Ranking
Cross Country - Men
Oct. 7, 2008

1. Massachusetts Lowell
2. Stonehill
3. Southern Connecticut State
4. Adelphi
5. Bentley
6. Merrimack
7. Felician
8. NYIT
9. Assumption
10. Saint Rose