Kuchenbaur builds for Habitat for Humanity

Once a week in West Newton, Heidi Kuchenbaur from the Lesley University Women’s Cross Country team donates her time towards Habitat for Humanity in order to help build a duplex for two families looking to move out of their poor living conditions.
The house is due to be completed in March 2009 and Kuchenbaur has worked hard with fellow Habitat volunteers to do tasks such as build stairs, assemble roofing, and put up dry wall. When it is all completed, one family who lives in a one bedroom apartment where all of the children sleep in the same room and the other family who resides with their parents, will be able to move into their newly built home.
Habitat for Humanity is nothing new to Kuchenbaur as she has been involved with the organization since she stepped on the Lesley campus her freshman year. She attended Alternative Spring Break her freshman year and the following year the junior was a leader on the same trip that did major work for Habitat.
Kuchenbaur says that through her involvement with Habitat she has developed confidence and leadership abilities. Being a member of the cross country team has helped her find other people with similar interests
in community service.
“One of the most rewarding things about working with Habitat besides assisting those in need is that I’ve recruited other people at Lesley to get involved too and I feel like I’ve helped them grow as individuals just as I did.” comments Kuchenbaur.
Kuchenbaur’s work with Habitat has also translated as she one of the captains of the cross country team. The leadership skills she developed helped lead her team to the New England Collegiate Conference Championship this fall. The
relationships she built with her teammates has also been vital in recruiting half of the team into various types of volunteering. Several team members went to the
Pancake Breakfast to benefit breast cancer awareness for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Kuchenbaur hopes to keep participating in Habitat throughout the year and has plans for the future including a spaghetti dinner to benefit a local organization. Her goal is to get as many groups as possible involved with the numerous volunteering opportunities that exist within the Office of Community Service.

Written By Rob Palardy

The End of the 2008 XC Season

The end of our 2008 season has come and some substantial achievements have emerged. We had the highest number of men cross the finish line (5). Our women's team had the highest number of participants (14). We ran more miles than we have run in the past. Our workouts grew in intensity. We had NECC Runners of the Week, NECC Runners of the Year, NECC All-Conference Runners, and NECC Team Champs. We accomplished so much in such a short period of time. Remember, this team has been in existence for only 3 years.

Congratulations to our Freshman for finishing out the year and being successful. Thanks to the captains for keeping the team together and creating a welcoming environment. Thanks to our veterans for setting the tone in practice and coming through in the clutch. Here are some highlights for each person.

Merrie Rothstein- Running 28:44 at Pop Crowell. Merrie finally broke 29 minutes!
Andrea "Dre" Hofius- Running through injury, Dre completed her first season of any type of competitive sport.
Anna Pless- Broke a 7 minute mile in practice and took a minute off of her personal best. Anna finishes her running career at Lesley with some impressive accomplishments and improvements. We will miss her laugh and her southern hospitality.
Erin Hurley- Improved by 2 minutes this year to finish with (25:12) as her best time. Erin moves on next year to bigger things as she will graduate. We will miss her humor and well-timed comments.
Janice Catalano - Co-Captain. Broke 25 minutes (24:56) at Franklin Park and found speed to be her strength.
Heidi Kuchenbaur-Co-Captain. Ran 2 minutes off of her personal best this year going from 27:05 to 25:33.
Elise Huebner- Ran a personal best(24:11) at Franklin park improving by 2 minutes over the season.
Raina Mesibov- After suffering from injury, Raina came back to make into the top 8 runners.
Sarah Chafe- Battled all year to get to her best. This year was learning experience for the Sophomore. Chafe ran her best race at Pop Crowell (23:59).
Rachel Federico- In her first year, Rachel ran extremely well being our 5th runner. Her best race was Saints Invitational (23:54). Note: Rachel is the first woman from her high school to run in college. She was invited back to Salem High School to speak to her former team.
Elize McKelvey- "Z-Money" showed talent and a dancing flair this year. Her best race was at Elms(21:48) and she was NECC All-Conference runner.
Jasmine Cuevas- "Jazzy" was the "NECC Rookie of the Year" and was 4th overall in the NECC
Heather Peng- Ran 20:40 at Pop Crowell and was 3rd overall in the NECC. She worked extremly hard all year and really performed well.
Charlotte Goff- NECC Women of the Year, RWU Invitational Champ, top 75 runners in the NCAA, and the school record holder in 5k (19:33).
Ben Arcangeli- Beginner runner who made history when he crossed the finish line at Pop Crowell. 5 guys crossed the finish line!!!!
Matt Hunt- During the NECC Championship, Matt blew by 4 runers in the last 200 meters to solidify the men's 3rd place finish. Unbelievable.
Sam Hunt- Sam came up big at the NECC Championship passing his guy in an emotional finish. It was important to see his consistency at the end of the season.
Brian Axelord- At the Saints, Brian cut his time down by three minutes from the previous year(29:21).
Fran Cusick-NECC All-Conference and school record holder (26:38). Fran ran his best race in the end, beating all other NECC runners in the ECAC Championship.

2008 NECC Champs!

In just 3 years of existence, the Lesley University Women's XC team wins the New England Collegiate Conference. Charlotte Goff was named Woman Runner of the Year. Jasmine Cuevas was named Woman Rookie of the Year. 4 Lesley women were named NECC All-Conference (Goff, Heather Peng, Cuevas, and Elize McKelvey).

NCAA Regionals- Nov. 15th 2008

Our last race of the 2008 was very successful. We overcame the rough weather and tough course to place new records for the Lesley XC program. The men ran with a limited team. Fran (basketball) and Ben (work) were not able to be with us, so the men ran as individuals. Sam and Matt continued to dominate the field that had gotten the best of them earlier in the season. Brian defeated runners that had also bested him earlier.

The women broke records. Charlotte placed the highest a Lesley runner has ever placed in NCAA competition (75th). The women placed 33rd out of 57 (record) in the NCAA Regionals. These records have set the bar high for next years team, but it has established our team as a legitimate cross country team that will not be going away anytime soon.

On Saturday, when the races were all over, we drove away winners. Our young program of 3 years has come so far in a short amount of time. These successes will lead to more victories next season. The Lesley Cross Country program exists, succeeds, and builds for the future. It should be fun to see the next chapter.