Bloomsburg Cross Country Teams Finish Fourth at NCAA Regionals

INDIANA, PA —The Bloomsburg University men's and women's cross country both finished fourth on Saturday at the NCAA East Regional championships held at Indiana (PA) University.

The men's team had two to-10 finishers in Justin Shepherd, who was eighth in 32:41 for the 10K course, while Michael Espinosa was ninth in 32:46. Both runners earned All-Region honors for their finish. The top-10 finish for the Huskies was the first for Bloomsburg since 1996 when Chris Moscatello took fifth.

Taking 33rd for the Huskies was Paul Gardiner in 33:55; while Bill Shephardson was 47th in 34:31, while Chip Carnes was 55th in 34:58.

The men's winner was Ryan Coon of Edinboro with a time of 31:41.

The Huskies finished 152 points with Lock Haven winning the regional title with 36 points. Edinboro was second with 56 points with Shippensburg third with 111.

On the women's side, Amber Hackenberg was 10th for Bloomsburg in a time of 21:47 for the 6K course. Hackenberg earned All-Region honors for her finish. Karen Hause was 24th in 22:46 with Amanda Pisano finishing 29th in 23:03.

In addition, Mary Bacher was 32nd in 23:08 with Terri Sutherland was 51st in 23:49.

The winner of the women's race was Julie Nemergat of Edinboro in a time of 20:29.

Bloomsburg totaled 146 points as a team with Edinboro winning the team title with 30 points. Kutztown was second with 112 points and Slippery Rock third with 135.