#2 Men's Cross Country Captures Brooks Invitational
10/13/07
The New York University men's cross country team, ranked #2 in the nation by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), bested a large and talented field with a first-place finish at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Competing on the 8,000-meter course at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, WI, the Violets place three runners among the top-six finishers and totaled 68 points to edge #6 Haverford College (71 points).
Senior captain Ryan Williams was the first NYU runner to cross the tape, placing second in a time of 24:11. He was followed closely by junior Jesse Schneider (5th, 24:17) and senior captain Hany Abdallah (6th, 24:21).
"Ryan and Hany ran in the lead pack the whole race," explained NYU head coach Nick McDonough. "There was a quick turn after 300 meters, and some of our guys didn't get out, they got stuck in the back of the pack."
Also scoring for NYU were seniors James McCarthy (22nd place, 25:02) and Spenser Popeson (33rd place, 25:15).
"Jesse was probably only about 100th at the mile," McDonough revealed. "He and some of our other runners didn't get out well. But, they did finish strongly."
Williams, who finished third at the Brooks Invitational last year (the Violets placed second, overall), ran 23 seconds faster than he did in 2006. Abdallah cut 52 seconds off of his 2006 time, while Schneider eclipsed last year's showing by 75 seconds.
"This was a good step forward for us as we move on with our schedule," McDonough added. "We've been working hard to try and get to where we want to be, we're in the last few weeks of our hardest training block of the year."
Brian Butzler of Wisconsin-Whitewater won the race in a time of 24:01.
Also running for NYU were freshman Matt Turlip (45th, 25:28) and sophomore Zach Maher (50th, 25:33)
North Central College (tied for #9) and #13 Wisconsin-Stevens Point finished third (90 points) and fourth (141), respectively, while Augustana College (also tied for #9) finished fifth (176 points).
Overall, 22 teams and 358 runners competed.