WASHINGTON - A pair of All-Region honors highlighted the American University cross country team's final meet of 2017, as the Eagles closed the season at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship in Bethlehem, Pa., on Friday.
The men, who entered the meet ranked eighth in the region, closed with a 12th-place overall finish while the women, who were ranked 12th, finished in 15th as a team.
Senior Alaeldin Tirba and junior Matthew Rainey led the way for the men with a pair of top-20 individual finishes, earning the team's first All-Region honors since 2013 when Nick Regan led the team with a 29th place finish.
For the second consecutive meet, it was Tirba who paced the Eagles as he crossed in 12th overall with a final time of 30:48.20 for a new personal record (PR) over 10,000-meters. For Rainey, this was a 10,000m debut on the cross country course, and he paced through in 30:51.60 for 18th overall and an All-Region honor.
Senior Sam Doud (75th), senior Liam Purdy (103rd), and junior Ben Doiron (129th) closed out the Eagles' scoring efforts to earn a total of 337 points.
Princeton and Navy placed first and second, respectively, to earn automatic berths into the NCAA Championship meet later this month. Bucknell (8th), Lehigh (9th), Lafayette (25th) and Loyola Maryland (26th) rounded out the Patriot League teams represented in the field.
The women also outpaced a pair of PL foes, placing 15th as a team behind the pacing of junior Adriana Hooks. The Eagles placed ahead of both Lafayette (22nd) and Loyola Maryland (23rd), while Bucknell (8th), Navy (12th) and Lehigh (14th) landed just ahead of AU.
Hooks led the Eagles for the 11th consecutive meet, dating back to the 2016 season opener. She crossed in 61st overall with a final time of 21:31.70 followed by freshman Nadia Stratton (86th), freshman Shelbi Wuss (87th), senior Brianna Belo (102nd), and senior Jude Mabone (121st) to earn a total of 457 points.
Penn State paced the overall team field, followed by Villanova.
The Eagles now settle in for a brief respite before kicking off the indoor track season in December. For the latest on AU Cross Country and Track & Field, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on @AU_TrackXC.
MEN'S RESULTS
1. Princeton (57 points)
2. Navy (109 points)
3. Villanova (114 points)
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12. AMERICAN (337 points)
12. Alaeldin Tirba, Sr. - 30:48.20 PR
18. Matthew Rainey, Jr. - 30:51.60
75. Sam Doud, Sr. - 31:52.80
103. Liam Purdy, Sr. - 32:26.30
129. Ben Doiron, Jr. - 33:04.10
140. Tommy Sommer, Jr. - 33:12.60
151. Max Lustig, Fr. - 33:36.90
WOMEN'S RESULTS
1. Penn State (31 points)
2. Villanova (60 points)
3. Georgetown (109 points)
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15. AMERICAN (457 points)
61. Adriana Hooks, Jr. - 21:31.70
86. Nadia Stratton, Fr. - 21:54.60
87. Shelbi Wuss, Fr. - 21:55.10
102. Brianna Belo, Sr. - 22:09.20
121. Jude Mabone, Sr. - 22:27.70 PR
162. Arianna Lopez, So. - 23:22.20
173. Kaitlyn McTernan, So. - 23:39.0
