Saturday, October 29
Easton, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Patriot League Championships
Lehigh Earns Solid Fourth Place Finish at Patriot League Championships
10/29/2016 7:48:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Complete Results (TFRRS) / (PDF)
PatriotLeague.com Recap
Lehigh Stats/Results Sheet
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EASTON, Pa. – The Lehigh men's cross country program used a strong team effort on Saturday afternoon to earn a fourth place finish at the Patriot League Championships. Lehigh landed two runners on the All-Patriot League second team led by senior Alexander Fitzgerald, who earned his first all-league honor with his 12th place finish, and junior Patrick Reilly joined him after finishing 14th overall for the second consecutive season.
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Fitzgerald, who was in second place during the early portion of the race, crossed the finish line 12th overall with his time of 25:19.6. Reilly followed closely behind and came in two spots back in 14th place with his mark of 25:21.9. Freshmen Matt Kravitz (25:38.4) and Jeffrey Kirshenbaum (25:38.6) made their PLC debuts with 20th and 21st place finishes, respectively, while senior Ryan Cooney (25:40.0) made it three straight Lehigh finishers in 22nd place.
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"It's still disappointing to be fourth," said head coach Todd Etters. "One thing I'm not disappointed in is the effort. We made up ground definitely on the teams in the league and I thought our guys ran tough. I'm proud of Alex. At one point he was in second place trying to gap the field and if he didn't make that move, he might have finished in the twenties, so I think for him to have the guts to do that when you're feeling good and take a chance, that's what we came here to do. We were here to challenge the top tier teams and we did that."
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The rest of Lehigh's pack was not far behind with junior John Tolbert (33rd/25:59.6) and sophomore Samuel Layding (37th/26:02.5) scoring team points with their final times. Rounding out the Lehigh field was Brian Arita (26:22.3) in 43rd place, Jack Curran in 50th (26:46.6), Ryan Grace in 51st (26:49.7), Christopher Mascetti in 55th place (26:55.0) and Mitchell Daddario crossing the finish in 67th (27:26.1).
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"Our three, four, and five guys were incredible," Fitzgerald said. "They all finished close together, which was an awesome pack. That's what our main goal was all season. We've been practicing pack running and it was awesome to see that work out."
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Fitzgerald also pointed out past members of the team who he says help shape the current squad into the group they've become.
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"When I was a freshman, the seniors left a great legacy," Fitzgerald said. "They worked as hard as they could to make this team great and that's exactly what we've tried to replicate. The freshman have come along great and I hope they do the same thing."
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"I think their legacy will be just how committed our team could be to each other," Etters said of his seniors. "Those guys would do anything for each other and I think that's rubbed off on the rest of our team. You saw it today in the race, they were all committed and running together. It wasn't a selfish act; it was all about doing it for your teammates today."
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Navy took home the top spot with 23 teams points, followed by Army West Point with 79 points. Boston University's 83 points landed them in third, followed by Lehigh (86) and Bucknell (87).
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Next up for the Mountain Hawks will be the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals on Friday Nov. 11 on the campus of Penn State University.
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PatriotLeague.com Recap
Lehigh Stats/Results Sheet
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EASTON, Pa. – The Lehigh men's cross country program used a strong team effort on Saturday afternoon to earn a fourth place finish at the Patriot League Championships. Lehigh landed two runners on the All-Patriot League second team led by senior Alexander Fitzgerald, who earned his first all-league honor with his 12th place finish, and junior Patrick Reilly joined him after finishing 14th overall for the second consecutive season.
Â
Fitzgerald, who was in second place during the early portion of the race, crossed the finish line 12th overall with his time of 25:19.6. Reilly followed closely behind and came in two spots back in 14th place with his mark of 25:21.9. Freshmen Matt Kravitz (25:38.4) and Jeffrey Kirshenbaum (25:38.6) made their PLC debuts with 20th and 21st place finishes, respectively, while senior Ryan Cooney (25:40.0) made it three straight Lehigh finishers in 22nd place.
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"It's still disappointing to be fourth," said head coach Todd Etters. "One thing I'm not disappointed in is the effort. We made up ground definitely on the teams in the league and I thought our guys ran tough. I'm proud of Alex. At one point he was in second place trying to gap the field and if he didn't make that move, he might have finished in the twenties, so I think for him to have the guts to do that when you're feeling good and take a chance, that's what we came here to do. We were here to challenge the top tier teams and we did that."
Â
The rest of Lehigh's pack was not far behind with junior John Tolbert (33rd/25:59.6) and sophomore Samuel Layding (37th/26:02.5) scoring team points with their final times. Rounding out the Lehigh field was Brian Arita (26:22.3) in 43rd place, Jack Curran in 50th (26:46.6), Ryan Grace in 51st (26:49.7), Christopher Mascetti in 55th place (26:55.0) and Mitchell Daddario crossing the finish in 67th (27:26.1).
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"Our three, four, and five guys were incredible," Fitzgerald said. "They all finished close together, which was an awesome pack. That's what our main goal was all season. We've been practicing pack running and it was awesome to see that work out."
Â
Fitzgerald also pointed out past members of the team who he says help shape the current squad into the group they've become.
Â
"When I was a freshman, the seniors left a great legacy," Fitzgerald said. "They worked as hard as they could to make this team great and that's exactly what we've tried to replicate. The freshman have come along great and I hope they do the same thing."
Â
"I think their legacy will be just how committed our team could be to each other," Etters said of his seniors. "Those guys would do anything for each other and I think that's rubbed off on the rest of our team. You saw it today in the race, they were all committed and running together. It wasn't a selfish act; it was all about doing it for your teammates today."
Â
Navy took home the top spot with 23 teams points, followed by Army West Point with 79 points. Boston University's 83 points landed them in third, followed by Lehigh (86) and Bucknell (87).
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Next up for the Mountain Hawks will be the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals on Friday Nov. 11 on the campus of Penn State University.
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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