Boston College Athletics
Men's Cross Country Welcomes Fall Freshman Class
August 15, 2005 | Men's Track & Field
Aug. 15, 2005
Boston College Head Coach Randy Thomas has announced his incoming freshman class which includes nine athletes that will begin competing for the Eagles this fall.
Corey Ahern comes to BC from Londonderry, N.H., where he was the 2005 N.H. Class L 3200-meter champion and N.H. Meet of Champions 3200 Champion for Bishop Guertin High School. He holds the Class L meet record in that event. He finished 12th at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in the two-mile, and his personal best in the 3200 is nine minutes, 6.98 seconds. As a junior and senior, he was an all-state selection for cross country, indoor and outdoor track.
James LaGreca hails from Haworth, N.J., where he ran for Northern Valley High. As a senior he was the Eastern States two-mile indoor champion, Bergen County indoor and outdoor 3200 champion. As a junior, LaGreca's team captured the Bergen County Cross Country Championship and was named the North Jersey Cross Country Runner of the Year by The Record. A first team All-League, All-Bergen County, and All-State selection in track and cross country, he ran 1:56.5, 4:19.4 and 9:29.3 for the 800, 1600, and 3200, respectively.
A local product from Worcester, Mass., Tim Ritchie competed for Doherty Memorial High School. He finished fourth in the 2004 Massachusetts State Cross Country Championship and in the two-mile at the Mass. Indoor Track State Championships. He was the 2005 Central Mass. two-mile outdoor champion. Ritchie was a three-time league champion as a senior, a Massachusetts All-State selection in the cross country and two-mile as a junior and senior. He was also named the Doherty High School Student-Athlete of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
Pete Zimmerman comes to BC from Atlanta, Ga. Zimmerman ran for the Marist School where he was runner-up at the Georgia AAAA State Cross Country Championships as well as the 2005 Region Champion in the 3200. He finished fourth in the 3200 at the 2005 Georgia State Outdoor Track Championship. He holds the school record in the 5,000. As a sophomore and junior, he captained his team to the Georgia AAAA State Cross Country State Title. A two-time AAAA Georgia All-State Team selection in 2003 and 2004, Zimmerman was also named to the All-Region/All-County cross country team.
David Emerson, a native of Westford, Vt., was a member of the Essex Junction team that won four Vermont State Cross Country Championships, three State Indoor Championships and one State Outdoor Championship. A three-time Vermont All-Sate selection, Emerson was also tabbed an All-New England selection. In 2004, he was the runner-up at the Vermont State Cross Country Championships.
Christopher Jackson is the third athlete in three years to come to Chestnut Hill from Bishop Hedricken in Rhode Island. Jackson won the 1000 and 1500 at the 2005 Indoor State Championships. He captured the 1500 title at the Outdoor Class A Championships, and finished third in the 1500 at the 2005 outdoor state Championship.
Brendan Collins of Canterbury, N.H., placed fourth in the 1600 and the 4x400 relay at the N.H. Meet of Champions while running for Belmont High School. He earned the 800 championship at the N.H. Class M Championship. He was a three-time Class M Cross Country Runner-up and captained the Belmont cross country and track teams as a junior and senior. He won the Wendy's Heisman Trophy for the state of New Hampshire.
James Slattery will compete for the Eagles in 2005 after an impressive career at New Canaan High School, in New Canaan, Conn. A middle-distance runner who won the 2005 State Class MM 800, Slattery was a 2005 Outdoor Track All-State selection and a two-time All-Conference in cross country.
Greg Hassel, a native of Harrison N.Y., was primarily a sprinter in high school. He was an all-league selection in the 55 and the 300 dash indoors in 2004 and 2005. Also in those same years, Hassel was named to the 100 and 4x400 outdoor All-League teams. His personal best in the 100 is 10.74, while his personal best in the 200 is 22.48. Hassel was honored as Harrison High School's Athlete of the Year as a member of the varsity football, indoor and outdoor track teams.
The 2005 cross country season gets underway when BC competes at the Dartmouth Invitational on Sept. 10.
