Fact Sheet
With only two seniors and four juniors, coach Bill Fritz expects the 2012 season to be a rebuilding one for the Rowan University men’s cross country team. Last year, Rowan won the Salisbury Fall Classic and Collegiate Track Conference (CTC) Championships. The Profs finished second at the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships, Fordham Fiasco and Dickinson Long-Short Invitational. Rowan tied for seventh place at the NCAA Atlantic Regional.
“This year, we have a roster of 23 runners and most of them are underclassmen,” stated Fritz. “We have two good lead runners – Mike Carotenuto and Jeff Tauriello. Mike had a fantastic track season with pretty good times. He is only going to get better. Jeff is a true distance runner. He has done the miles and needs to work on his mental ability to build up his confidence.”
Carotenuto (sr. Port Monmouth, NJ/Middletown N.) and Tauriello (jr. Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) take over for Eric DuBois who was the team’s top runner last year. DuBois finished fifth (25:21.5) at the NCAA Atlantic Regional and qualified for the national championships. He recorded a time of 25:03.10 at the NCAAs. At the conference championships, DuBois came in third (26:16.82) for his third straight All-Conference first team honor. He took second (25:14.21) at the Fordham Fiasco and fourth at the CTC Championships (26:47.76) and Salisbury Fall Classic (25:55). DuBois will be an assistant coach for the squad while he is attending grad school at the University.
Last year, Carotenuto ran a season best of 26:35.63 at the NJAC Championships. He came in 10th place and received his second All-Conference second team honor. Carotenuto ran 26:53 at the Lehigh Paul Short Run and 27:09.7 at the regional. He is a team captain this season along with veteran Ethan Wolmark (jr. Medford, NJ/Shawnee).
Tauriello finished 14th at the conference championships in 26:58.31. He earned a spot on the NJAC All-Conference second team. At the Fordham Fiasco, Tauriello was 21st with a time of 26:18.36. He ran 26:46.4 at the NCAA Atlantic Regional. Wolmark had a season best of 28:20 at the Salisbury Fall Classic. He registered times of 28:30.16 and 28:55.75 at the NJAC and CTC Championships respectively.
“Ethan is the next wave of runners with Raj Singh and two freshmen,” Fritz said. “He is going to be good in October and November when he is needed. The top two freshmen are Adam Ross and Tim Dole. Adam trained a lot this summer and he is racing tough. Right now, Tim is our fourth or fifth runner on the team.”
Rowan started the 2012 season at the Salisbury Fall Classic. Ross (fr. Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) was the Profs’ second runner to cross the finish line. He was 34th overall (28:13) followed by Singh, 35th (28:17). Wolmark and Dole were 43rd (28:32.32) and 44th (28:34) respectively. Carotenuto finished 13th with a time of 27:11.
The Profs have a pack of sophomores that have experience from last year. The group consists of Jesse Spector (so. Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills), Mike Lewis (so. Glen Mills, PA/Downingtown W.), Jon Sewnig (so. Yardville, NJ/Note Dame) and Dave Quimby (so. Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape). Spector ran his best time (27:49.46) at the Fordham Fiasco. He finished 44th in 28:21.58 at the NJAC Championships. Lewis came in 41st (28:15.24) at the conference championships. He produced a time of 28:07.24 at the Fordham Fiasco. Sewnig finished 29th at the NJAC Championships in 27:42.66, which was a season best. He ran 27:48.29 at the Fordham Fiasco and 28:24 at the Salisbury Fall Classic. Quimby had times of 29:11 and 29:18.48 at the Salisbury Fall Classic and CTC Championships respectively.
“I am looking for the four of them (Spector, Lewis, Sewnig and Quimby) to contribute which will help out a lot,” stated Fritz. “They could all have break through seasons. Dave got pretty good last spring in the 800 and 1500 meters.”
Rowan also returns Rob Buzby (so. Medford, NJ/Shawnee), Evan Norwood (jr. Matawan, NJ/Matawan Reg.), Joe Mineo (jr. Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) and Mike Davies (so. Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty). Buzby ran his best time, 28:08.01, last year the Fordham Fiasco. Mineo had a time of 29:13.16 at the NJAC Championships. Davies had his season best of 28:06.08 at the Forham Fiasco.
Fritz believes that Sean Ras (fr. Middletown, NJ/Middletown N.) and Joe Hartline (fr. Williamstown, NJ/Buena Reg.) have the potential to contribute in their first season. The incoming class includes Drew Kinghorn (fr. Howell, NJ/Howell), Dan Murray (fr. Seaville, NJ/Oean City), Joe Rewick (fr. Wharton, NJ/Morris Hills) and Darren Schenk (fr. Pine Brook, NJ/Montville Twp.).
At the 2012 Salisbury Fall Classic, Rowan came in sixth place out of 10 teams. “We went to Salisbury without a lot of fire power,” said Fritz. “The weather conditions were not good. Everyone (Rowan) and all of the other teams ran poorly.”
“The team should be built back up in the later part of October,” continued Fritz. “ By then the temperatures should be coming down and it will be cooler and the runners will be stronger.”
Next, Rowan will compete at the Fordham Fiasco on September 8 at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, NY. The men’s cross country team travels to Massachusetts for the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on September 15. The Profs run at the Lehigh Paul Short Invitational and the Princeton Invitational on September 28 and October 13 respectively. Rowan will host the CTC Championships on October 20 at Gloucester County College in Sewell. This year’s NJAC Championships are scheduled for October 27 at Richard Stockton College. The NCAA Atlantic Regional will be held at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, NY on November 10. The NCAA Division III Championships are slated for November 17 in Terre Haute, IN.
