Men's Cross Country Team Excels at NYU Invitational
09/15/07
The New York University men’s cross country team excelled at the NYU Invitational on its home course in Van Cortlandt Park on Sept. 15. Dealing with intermittent rain, the team won the five-mile Invitational Open with 42 points and took sixth in the 8K NCAA Regional Preview with 172 points.
Johns Hopkins University came in second in the Invitational Open with 116 points, while Shippensburg University took third with 122 points.
In the Regional Preview, St. Lawrence University won the race with 50 points, followed by Geneseo State University with 53 points and The College of New Jersey with 82 points.
Senior Ryan Williams led the way for the Violets in the Invitational Open with a second-place finish in a time of 25:55.2.
“I felt it was a relaxed effort,” Williams said. “It felt good to put the uniforms and spikes back on and run competitively for the first time this season. I am really happy to be on this team. I feel we’re on track to accomplish our goals. Our focus is on winning a national championship, anything less will be disappointing.”
Coming in right behind Williams was junior Jesse Schneider with a time of 25:58.6. The other top times by the Violets were secured by senior James McCarthy (ninth place, 26:33.9), senior Spenser Popeson (12th, 26:47.5), and freshman Matt Turlip (16th place, 27:01.4).
Sophomore Calvin Lee also ran for the Violets, taking 24th place with a time of 27:22.0.
New York Institute of Technology’ Evans Kigen won the Invitational Open with a time of 25:45.5. Overall, 238 runners representing 23 schools competed in the race.
Junior Mark Hess led the pace for the Violets in the Regional Preview, finishing 23rd with a time of 26:13.6. The other Violet scorers were senior Colin Ryan (28th place, 26:21.2), junior Robert Joynt (30th place, 26:22.1), sophomore Zach Maher (37th place, 26:33.0), and freshman Noah MacNeil (54th place, 26:50.0).
Sophomore Jason Dessalet (109th place, 27:40.8), and senior Michael Peroutka (122nd place, 27:59.3) also competed for the Violets.
“Today felt really good,” Hess said. “Everyone ran really well, which is important to us, especially with our families being here. I feel like we are set up well for the year and I am ready to contribute to the team any way I can, whether it be running at nationals or cheering on my teammates.”
Chris Guerriero of The College of New Jersey won the Regional Open with a time of 25:24.6.
Overall 25 schools and 254 runners competed in the Regional Open.
“We ran under control today,” said NYU head coach Nick McDonough. “We ran well in both races and are looking forward to working towards a championship.”
The Violets return to action at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22, as they compete in the Connecticut College Invitational, in New London, CT.