College Roundup Friars race to title

By John Manley

An Irish trio got on the scoreboard for the Providence men’s cross-country team in the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, as the Friars outscored Wisconsin, 104-147 to win the 31-team event. The Friars’ Keith Kelly, a senior from Drogheda, was the first to finish. He ran the 8,000-meter course in 24 minutes, 12 seconds. The runner-up was 20 seconds behind. Further along were Providence’s Dermot Galvin, a junior from Kilrush, Co. Clare, and Paul Reilly, a junior from Loughrea, Co. Galway. Galvin was the 25th man to finish, running the course in 25:01, while Reilly placed 39th in 25:11.

The Providence women managed a fifth-place finish in their event. Wicklow sophomore Roisin McGettigan finished 52nd with a time of 22:16 for 6,000 meters. The winner was Arizona’s Tara Chaplin in 21:00. Minnesota, the host school, took the team trophy.

Both of Western Kentucky’s teams finished first in the ASU Pizza Inn Invitational in Jonesboro, Ark. Sophomore Olga Cronin, from Cork, won her third consecutive race, getting 5,000 meters in 14:53. Senior Valerie Lynch, also from Cork, was next to cross, in 14:54. A good, long while passed until another Cork senior, WKU’s Claire Gibbons, came on to take third place, in 15:36. The Hilltoppers scored 22 points to Memphis’ 53.

The Hilltoppers’ men won their heat, 35-41, over Murray State. Fastest man for WKU was freshman Enda Grandfield, from Co. Kerry. He ran 8,000 meters in 20:23.

Tulsa’s Margaret Danagher, a senior from Templemore, Co. Tipperary, ran 21st in the women’s division of the Sports World Missouri Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo. She ran 6,000 meters in 23:26.90. Harding’s Hanna Ritakallio was the winner in 21:38.60. Tulsa finished fourth in the team standings.

Mercyhurst’s Ciaran Brewster, a junior from County Longford, finished 74th in the National Catholic Cross Country Invitational at Notre Dame in Indiana. He ran the course in 27:31. The men finished 20th out of 26 teams.

Men’s Soccer

North Carolina-Charlotte’s David McGill was named Most Valuable Player of the Charlotte/Puma Classic, played last weekend. The freshman from Dublin assisted on a pair of goals as Charlotte defeated Memphis, 4-3, in double overtime in the first contest. The 49ers then played Virginia Tech to a scoreless tie in the final match and won the tournament by virtue of the scores. Shane Carew, a 49er sophomore from Kilkenny, also was named to the All-Tournament Team. Charlotte is 5-2-1.

Jon Leonard showed no mercy as NAIA power Rio Grande walloped Shawnee State, 9-0. Leonard, a sophomore forward from Belfast, scored five goals and one assist. Teammate Marty Rodgers, a junior from Belfast, added a goal for the Ohio school. Rio Grande is 8-1-2 overall and 4-0-0 in the American Mideast Conference.

Colm Kierans got the scoring under way when he booted home a corner kick to help North Florida defeat North Carolina-Pembroke, 4-2. The junior from Dublin later scored his second goal of the season in a 3-0 shutout of Eckerd. The Ospreys are 5-2.

Rhode Island’s Gareth Elliot found teammate Nicholas McCreath with a throw in as less than six minutes remained on the clock in a match against Brown. McCreath scored, earning the Belfast junior an assist in the 2-1 victory. Elliot later served McCreath with passes that led to goals in the Rams’ 2-0 victory over St. Bonaventure. The 18th-ranked Rams are now 7-3-1.

Elsewhere in Rhode Island, Providence’s Derek Cobbe scored the Friars’ second goal in their 2-all tie with Villanova. Cobbe is a graduate student from Dublin with senior eligibility. The Friars are 1-5-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the Big East.

John Frost, a freshman from Waterford, scored a goal in Mercyhurst’s 5-1 victory over Saginaw Valley State. The Lakers improved to 7-3-0 for coach John Melody, a native of Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.

Penn State was ranked number two, but any ranking at all remains a question after the Nittany Lions’ recent play. They defeated Michigan, 2-1, in overtime, but coach Barry Gorman couldn’t have been overly pleased. The Wolverines soccer program is in its first year of existence. Losses to Akron, 2-0, Indiana, 3-2, and South Carolina, 1-0, ensued. Penn State is now 7-3-0 for their Belfast-born and raised coach.

Old Dominion coach Alan Dawson, who also learned the game on Belfast soil, endured shutout losses to Liberty, 1-0, and North Carolina, 4-0, before the Monarchs reversed course with a 4-2 win over George Mason. The Monarchs are to 3-4-1.

Trevor Adair, another coach with Belfast roots, has Clemson on a four-match winning skein. The victims were Charleston Southern and North Carolina State by identical 6-1 scores, Brown, 2-1, and Fullerton State, 5-1. The latter win moved the Tigers to 7-2-0 overall.

Dartmouth gave coach Fran O’Leary reason to smile with 1-0 victories over Vermont and Penn. The Big Green improved to 5-2-0 overall and 2-0-0 in Ivy League play. O’Leary is a Dubliner.

Women’s Soccer

South Carolina won its contest with Wofford last week, 3-2, but then failed to score against two Southeastern Conference rivals. They lost to Georgia and Tennessee by identical 3-0 scores to fall to 3-8-0. Cork native Sue Kelly coaches the Gamecocks.

Keene State recently put three consecutive wins together, defeating Endicott, 4-2, Westfield State, 3-0, and Southern Maine, 3-2, in two overtimes. Keene then lost to Middlebury, 9-4, before tying Plymouth State, 1-1. Keene, now 4-5-2, is coached by Denise Lyons, formerly of Newcastle West, Co. Limerick.