Feature Story – Taking the Torch: Melian becoming the latest #Seawolves standout

Championship Central | USTFCCCA Regional Rankings

Orono, Maine – After a pair of top-three finishes in 2013, the Stony Brook men’s and women’s cross country reams will look to reclaim the titles they won in 2012 at the America East Championships Saturday. The men’s 8k will begin at 10 a.m. with the women’s 5k to follow at 11 a.m. at the University of Maine.

Senior Eric Speakman, who won the individual championship in 2012 and helped the Seawolves secure their first team crown in program history, will look to lead a competitive pack of runners.  He battled through injuries and clocked in at 25:13.27 for sixth in his only 8k run of the year last season, earning him all-conference honors.

Speakman has put together a solid senior year and is coming off a third-place finish in the Princeton Invitational Oct. 18. At the meet, he paced all conference runners with an 8k time of 24:05 on his way to his second America East Performer of the Week nod of the year. He earned his first after he placed 41st overall and first amongst AE runners in 24:05 at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, an 8k, Sept. 26.  He began the campaign by winning the Stony Brook Opener, a 6k, in 16:02.65 Aug 30.

“I think we have a great leader in Eric,” longtime Stony Brook cross country head coach Andy Ronan said. “He’s a contender hopefully to reclaim the title he won in 2012. He’ll face stiff competition from John Prizzi of New Hampshire and Hassan Omar of UMBC.”

Stony Brook placed third on the men’s side in 2013, marking the squad’s seventh top-five finish in eight years. Tyler Frigge, now a senior, joined Speakman on the all-conference team by placing seventh in 25:17.53.

From there, the Seawolves have a young roster that includes eight freshmen. Rookie Michael Watts impressed at the Princeton Invitational, taking 66th in 25:19.

“We have a young team that was a little bit all over the place during the season,” Ronan said. “On Saturday, it will be the first time we have the full squad on the line. Conference championships come down to who wants it. Two years ago, we really wanted it. We wanted it last year and barely missed out. I think if we have that kind of attitude, we’ll be in the mix.”

The women are currently No. 13 in the USTFCCCA Northeast Regional Poll and have finished in the top three in each of the last 12 seasons, including a second-place finish to New Hampshire in 2013. The result marked the end of an incredible string of six consecutive titles for Stony Brook from 2007-12. Stony Brook still boasted the individual champion in Olivia Burne, who became the sixth individual champion in program history with a course-record time of 17:30.14.

With Burne and all-conference runner Annie Keown gone to graduation, SBU will turn to its newest standout, junior Christina Melian. Melian placed ninth and earned All-America East accolades during a fantastic freshman campaign but sat out last year’s race with an injury.

Melian has come back strong and will take a solid body of work with her to Maine. She has placed in the top 15 in all four races this season and in the top two three times. She most recently crossed the line second in 21:12 at the Princeton Invitational, a 6k. Melian made a statement on Sept. 13 when she beat out members of the 2013 national champion Providence team for first in the Wolfie Invite, tallying a 5k time of 18:37.36. She also won the Stony Brook Season Opener, a 4k, in 14:31.98 and led all Stony Brook runners in a 14th-place finish in 17:24 at the 5k Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. 

“We have a really good leader up front in Christina Melian, who will be a contender for the individual award,” Ronan said. “She has two strong athletes to beat in last year’s freshman sensation Elinor Purrier from New Hampshire and Silvia Del Falva. I think it’s a three-horse race, and hopefully our horse comes home first.”

Elizabeth Caldwell is the highest returning runner from last season. Caldwell logged a time of 18:54.48 and took 22nd during her freshman season, and then-junior Kate Pouder secured 24th in the 81-runner field in 19:02.57.

The Seawolves also boast an up-and-comer in freshman Tiana Guevara. Guevara was 49th with a 6k time of 22:37 at the Princeton Invitational and 97th out of 207 runners at the first national meet of her collegiate career, the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown.

“To reclaim the title, everyone has to have their best race of the season,” Ronan said. “We have to get to the spots in the first mile that we need to get to in order to be running side-by-side by New Hampshire. If we can get to there, then it’s going to be a race to the finish.”

The Seawolves will continue the championship portion of their season Friday, Nov. 14 with the NCAA Regionals in Van Cortlandt Park, N.Y. The race begins at 11 a.m.