Richmond's Benford Named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Richmond women's cross country team finished second out of 14 teams and the men's team took fourth out of 13 teams at the 2006 Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday at Schenley Park.

Richmond earned both of the meet's Outstanding Rookie Awards with freshman Amy Van Alstine taking fourth in the women's race and freshman Andrew Benford (Ravenswood, WV) taking eighth to lead all rookies in the men's race.

Richmond's men finished fourth with 101 points, just two points behind third-place Massachusetts. La Salle also won the men's race with 52 points, while Duquesne was second (83).

Benford, a two-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, led the men's team with an eighth-place finish in a time of 25:44.50 on the 8K course earning 1st team All-Conference honors.

"Andrew was 25th at the halfway point and moved all the way up to eighth over the last two miles," Steve Taylor said. "The last part of the race was uphill, he was in his element."

Fellow freshman Matt Llano was the second Spider to finish and the second freshman in the race to cross the line in a time of 25:50.55.

"We're excited to have the top two freshmen in the race for the men, that says a lot about the future of our program and where we are headed," Steve Taylor said. "Benford and Llano just kept moving through the race."

"Two years ago on the same course 15th place on same exact course under worse conditions would have placed you 40th," Taylor said. "The Atlantic 10 has just gotten better across the board. We ran incredibly well, and if we can get a couple of key recruits we feel we can compete for the title in the next few years."