University of Connecticut Athletics
Wilson Wins Individual BIG EAST Title as Huskies Finish Fifth
10/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
BRONX, NY (October 26, 2001) -- Senior All-American (West Haven, CT) just edged Luke Watson of Notre Dame by less than a second to claim the individual BIG EAST Cross Country Championship Friday at Cortlandt Park in Bronx, NY. Juniors Mike Hall (Washington, CT), (Randolph, NJ) and sophomore Eric Fleckenstein (Port Jefferson, NY) also recorded top 50 finishes for the Huskies, who placed fifth overall with 163 points, an improvement from a seventh-place finish in 2000.
Wilson, who ran to a sixth-place finish to earn All-BIG EAST honors last season, clocked 24:22 en route to his second victory in as many meets this season. He is only the second UConn athlete to win the meet in its 23-year history; Travis Landreth also claimed first for the Huskies in 1997. Wilson’s time of 24:22 also tied for the third-best time in BIG EAST Championship history at Van Cortlandt Park.
Hall finished next for UConn with a time of 25:51 for 26th place. He was followed by Fleckenstein, who clocked 25:54 to finish 28th. Goglas placed 46th with 26:25 while freshman Pat Blake (Lebanon, CT) notched a 67th-place finish with 27:09.
Notre Dame won the team title with 49 points, besting Villanova who finished second with 52 points. Providence, the 2000 BIG EAST Champion, claimed third place while 2000 runner-up Georgetown took fourth.
Hamish Thorpe of Providence and Adrian Blincoe and Ryan Hayden of Villanova rounded out the individual top five finishers.
UConn returns to action Saturday, November 10, when it competes at the NCAA Northeast Qualifier in Boston, MA. Last season Wilson was the only Husky to qualify for the NCAA Championship, where he finished 40th to earn All-America honors. The 2001 NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championship will take place at Furman University in Furman, S.C., November 19.
