Sophomore Alex Simon and freshman Mikelle Cala both earned first place finishes to lead the Golden Griffins to a fifth-straight Little Three Championship title for both squads at Delaware Park on Saturday afternoon. The men's team scored 27 points to beat both Niagara and St. Bonaventure, while the women scored 23 points for their first-place victory.

"Both teams ran a great race today," Canisius College head coach Pete Osmond said. "Our younger runners were able to hold off some tough competition so we're very pleased with the results."

The men led off the afternoon as two Canisius runners, Simon and freshman Nate McCabe, were battling with Niagara's Mike Trendell for the lead throughout the race. As the runners rounded the final leg it was Simon and McCabe coming down the stretch. Simon edged out the first place finish with a time of 25:43 with McCabe following right behind at 25:44. Canisius had four runners with top ten finishes as sophomore Aaron Hoven placed fourth (26:27), and freshman Ricky Looby placed ninth (26:50). Junior Jon McDonald finished with a time of 27:43 followed by senior Sean BalkinBill Lawson (30:31). 

In the women's race, it was Cala who took the top time as the Griffs had all seven of its runners place in the top-11 positions. Junior Jill Shea came in third (18:27) followed by junior Julie Dahlkemper (18:37), freshman Jaime Wallace (18:57), sophomore Melanie Grzebinski (20:03), senior Megan Niblock (20:04), and freshman Kaitlyn Coon (20:38) capped the race for the Griffs.

"We were definitely wondering who would come through on the women's side," said Osmond. "Mikelle stepped up for us and the rest of the team ran a terrific race."

Niagara took second in the men's race with 31 team points, and Trendell took third in the field with his time of 26:01. St. Bonaventure placed third overall with 74 team points, led by Jimmy Burton and his time of 26:47. Niagara also took second in the women's race with 34 points. Kim Vona placed second with her time of 18:18. The Bonnies scored 77 team points in the women's event led by Elizabeth Moran and her time of 21:02.

Canisius has been very successful at the Little Three Championships, as the women have won 11 of the last 13 races while the men have won nine of the last 13 annual events. Both teams will be back in action on Oct. 1 when they head to Bethlehem, Pa. for the Brooks/Paul Short Run.