Sunday, October 31
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Patriot League Championship
Photo by: Don Paul
Fifth-Years Slavin and Demassa Pace Mountain Hawks at Patriot League Championship
10/31/2021 3:24:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Graduate students Seth Slavin and Brad DeMassa led the way for the Lehigh men's cross country team as the veteran duo finished in the top 25 to pace the Mountain Hawks as Lehigh hosted the Patriot League Championship Sunday on the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.
The Mountain Hawks totaled 139 points as a team to finish fifth in a field of 10.
"Our fifth-year guys, Brad and Seth did what we expected them to do," Lehigh head coach Todd Etters said. "They stepped up and really ran well. We had some gaps with our 3-4-5 guys but we had some guys who stepped up."
Slavin was the top finisher for the Mountain Hawks, claiming 20th place overall with a time of 25:50.0. Demassa was 3.6 seconds behind as he crossed the finish line in 23rd place with an official time 25:53.6.
"For most of the race they were side by side and that's really inspiring when you can be next to your teammate, next to your best friend and really pushing like that," Etters said. "Being a fifth year creates its own set of challenges in terms of course load, timing, both of those guys are working for a company, so it's pretty tough to balance all that but at the end of the day you had the faith that they could do it."
Junior Connor Melko had a strong early pace but finished up as Lehigh's No. 3 runner taking 30th place with a time of 26:00.8.
"I know Connor wanted to go out and battle for the top 10," Etters said. "He struggled a bit in the second half and that's something he'll have to learn from and he can get better at handling in the future."
Senior Avery Lederer and freshman Aidan Lynch were Lehigh's next two finishers. Lederer clocked in at 26:03.5 to finish in 33rd, while Lynch finished 47th in 26:23.3.
Rounding out Lehigh's top seven runners were junior Tyler French (49th – 26:26.3) and sophomore Will Tikiob (58th – 26:43.4).
"At 5K I thought we were actually in a great spot," Etters said. "We had packs. We were really in a position where a couple guys here or there would've made a big difference over the last few miles and unfortunately, we went the other way and lost some ground. That's where it gets tough and we have to be able to battle through it a little bit more as team."
Army West Point's Marshall Beatty was the individual champion with a time of 24:42.2. Navy had the next six finishers as the Mids rolled to the team title by 35 points over the Black Knights.
The Mountain Hawks will next compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, which Lehigh will host on the Goodman Campus on Friday, November 12.
"We have to recover from this and realize that we're not really that far away," Etters said. "We're closer. We just have to show a little more consistency from the start of the race to the finish. We lost a little bit of ground and I don't think it's because we're shutting down. I just think we're losing focus in pockets. It's a big challenge to move up from 8K to 10K, but in a way it helps us be a little more controlled over the first half of the race, pack up a little bit better, and hopefully finish stronger."
2021 Patriot League Cross Country Men's Championship Team Results
1. Navy, 20
2. Army West Point, 55
3. Boston University, 80
4. Lafayette, 134
5. Lehigh, 139
6. Bucknell, 140
7. Loyola Maryland, 183
8. American, 236
9. Holy Cross, 270
10. Colgate, 315
The Mountain Hawks totaled 139 points as a team to finish fifth in a field of 10.
"Our fifth-year guys, Brad and Seth did what we expected them to do," Lehigh head coach Todd Etters said. "They stepped up and really ran well. We had some gaps with our 3-4-5 guys but we had some guys who stepped up."
Slavin was the top finisher for the Mountain Hawks, claiming 20th place overall with a time of 25:50.0. Demassa was 3.6 seconds behind as he crossed the finish line in 23rd place with an official time 25:53.6.
"For most of the race they were side by side and that's really inspiring when you can be next to your teammate, next to your best friend and really pushing like that," Etters said. "Being a fifth year creates its own set of challenges in terms of course load, timing, both of those guys are working for a company, so it's pretty tough to balance all that but at the end of the day you had the faith that they could do it."
Junior Connor Melko had a strong early pace but finished up as Lehigh's No. 3 runner taking 30th place with a time of 26:00.8.
"I know Connor wanted to go out and battle for the top 10," Etters said. "He struggled a bit in the second half and that's something he'll have to learn from and he can get better at handling in the future."
Senior Avery Lederer and freshman Aidan Lynch were Lehigh's next two finishers. Lederer clocked in at 26:03.5 to finish in 33rd, while Lynch finished 47th in 26:23.3.
Rounding out Lehigh's top seven runners were junior Tyler French (49th – 26:26.3) and sophomore Will Tikiob (58th – 26:43.4).
"At 5K I thought we were actually in a great spot," Etters said. "We had packs. We were really in a position where a couple guys here or there would've made a big difference over the last few miles and unfortunately, we went the other way and lost some ground. That's where it gets tough and we have to be able to battle through it a little bit more as team."
Highlights from the men's 8K Patriot League Championship race where the Mountain Hawks finished fifth. pic.twitter.com/YY3p0ptruF
— Lehigh TF & XC (@LehighTFXC) October 31, 2021
Army West Point's Marshall Beatty was the individual champion with a time of 24:42.2. Navy had the next six finishers as the Mids rolled to the team title by 35 points over the Black Knights.
The Mountain Hawks will next compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, which Lehigh will host on the Goodman Campus on Friday, November 12.
"We have to recover from this and realize that we're not really that far away," Etters said. "We're closer. We just have to show a little more consistency from the start of the race to the finish. We lost a little bit of ground and I don't think it's because we're shutting down. I just think we're losing focus in pockets. It's a big challenge to move up from 8K to 10K, but in a way it helps us be a little more controlled over the first half of the race, pack up a little bit better, and hopefully finish stronger."
2021 Patriot League Cross Country Men's Championship Team Results
1. Navy, 20
2. Army West Point, 55
3. Boston University, 80
4. Lafayette, 134
5. Lehigh, 139
6. Bucknell, 140
7. Loyola Maryland, 183
8. American, 236
9. Holy Cross, 270
10. Colgate, 315
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
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