11/10/2006 - (Riverdale, NY) - A year ago, it would have been hard to fathom the amount of hardware the Mount Saint Vincent Men's and Women's Cross Country teams captured at Friday's Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) and Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Cross Country Championships at Van Cortlandt Park. After all, it was only a year ago that Mount Saint Vincent hosted the event despite not having a team. However, when the race began on Friday the fact that the Dolphins were a de facto first year program did not matter. Nor did it matter that almost every Mount Saint Vincent competitor were still neophytes to the sport. What mattered was that the Mount had a tremendous group of athletes, and on Friday they ran tremendously. Both teams earned runner-up honors and several Mount Saint Vincent competitors walked away with awards as well.

Mount Saint Vincent junior Derek Charlton (left) and Head Coach Michael Murphy (right) pose after tremendous performances at Friday's Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) and Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Championships at Van Cortlandt Park. Charlton captured the HVMAC individual championship and led the Dolphins to a second place finish, while Murphy was voted HVMAC Coach of the Year. The Mount Saint Vincent Women's Cross Country team also finished in second place at the HVWAC Championships.

The Mount Saint Vincent Women's Cross Country team finished second behind champion Pratt at the HVWAC Championships Pratt after earning 37 team points to Pratt's 24. The day was highlighted by a heroic effort by senior Teresa Escobar (Highland Falls, NY/O'Neill HS), who finished in third place (24:02) despite running with a serious ankle sprain. She was immediately followed by junior Erin Davies (Islip, NY/Islip HS), who finished fourth with a time of 24:10. Also finishing in the top-10 for Mount Saint Vincent was freshman Erica Costanzo (Barnstead, NH/Tilton School) (26:50). Just missing out on a medal was freshman Nicole Foy (Levittown, NY/Division Avenue HS), who finished 11th with a time of 27:09.

The Mount Saint Vincent Men's Cross Country team had a tremendous day, highlighted by a career-best performance by junior Derek Charlton (Yonkers, NY/St. Raymond's). The junior earned the HVMAC individual championship, finishing in first place with a time of 30:43, seven seconds behind his nearest competitor. Charlton led the Mount to 44 total teams points at the HVMAC Championships, 11 points behind champion Cooper Union.

Also earning medals for their top-10 finishes were freshman Lester Owens (Munulupun, NJ/St. Joseph's-Metuchen), who finished in fourth place at 32:56, and fellow freshman Jeff Hopkins who finished in 10th place (34:54).

Mount Saint Vincent Head Coach Michael Murphy was voted the HVMAC Coach of the Year for his efforts in not only resurrecting the Mount Saint Vincent program, but leading it to an incredible season and performance at the HVMAC Championships.