Cross Country: Men Finish #9 at MAAC Championship

[FU73]

Led by Scott Daly's 40th-place finish, Fairfield University Men's Cross Country finished ninth at the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship on Saturday morning at Holmdel Park. Daly clocked in at 27:15.55 for his trip around the 8K course.

Mike Bodie was also in the top-half of the 144 harriers that comprised today's field. The junior crossed the finish line is 28:21.25, followed just over six seconds later by Ryan Brennan. Mike Dziuba and Nick Rispoli completed the scoring for the Stags. Benjamin Breton, Timothy Salit, Connor Secora, Stephen Jastrzembski, Chris Fischer, Perry McCarthy and Dan Lehman also hit the course today for Fairfield.

The Stags' ninth-place finish matched last year's output as Fairfield topped Niagara and Saint Peter's on the team leaderboard. Iona continued its dominance of the MAAC with its 27th consecutive conference title. The Gaels placed the first five runners of the meet, guided by individual champion Andrew Tario with a winning time of 25:25.46.

The Stags continue their Championship Season on Friday, Nov. 10 for the NCAA Northeast Region Championship in Buffalo.

[FU73]

The Iona College Men’s Cross Country earned their NCAA record 27th straight MAAC Men’s Cross Country Championship today at Holmdel Park.

The Gaels were paced by Andrew Tario, the 2017 Male Most Outstanding Runner, who ran a 25:25.46 and set the new course record for Holmdel Park. Iona recorded their fifth straight perfect score and 17th straight individual championship.

The 2017 MAAC Men’s Cross Country Rookie of the year is Ehab El-Sandali from Iona College. El-Sandali finished the men’s 8k in 25:40.14, placing 8th overall. Along with El-Sandali, the MAAC All-Rookie team is; James Draney from Marist College, Aidan Canavan of Siena, Paul Suflita and Turner Dirrigl of Canisius College.

In addition, the Iona College Gaels have claimed their second consecutive MAAC Women’s Cross Country Championships and their 12th team championship in the last 13 years. Following Iona in second place was Marist College with 71 points and Quinnipiac rounds out the top-3 with a total of 78 points.