Gunther

Men's Cross Country Stevens Athletic Communications

Gunther and Catalano Each Earn Second Team All-MAC Honors to Lead Men’s Cross Country at MAC Men’s Cross Country Championship

Men's cross country finishes seventh at MAC Men's Cross Country Championship

November 2, 2019

Meet Results
 
The Basics
  • The lead: Junior PJ Gunther and senior Jake Catalano were named Second Team All-Middle Atlantic Conference in leading the Stevens Institute of Technology men's cross country team to a seventh-place finish Saturday at the 2019 MAC Men's Cross Country Championship.
  • Location: Utica District Park - Frederick, Maryland
  • Short Story: Using a 5:17.1 mile pace, Gunter completed the eight-kilometer course in a season-best time of 26:15.8 to finish 14th out of 151 runners to lead Stevens' 12-runner contingent. Catalano joined Gunther in earning all-conference recognition by placing 19th after using a 5:19 mile place to complete the course in a personal-best time of 26:25.4, trimming one-tenth-of-a-second off his previous PR. Widener University captured its eight MAC team title with 53 points. Stevens finished seventh out of the 16-team field. Stevenson University's topped the field with a time of 24:51.4 to win the individual title and the accompanying MAC Cross Country Runner of the Year award. Widener's Gavyn Fox was named the league's Rookie of the Year after a 12th-place finish and the Pride's Vince Touey was named the conference's Coach of the Year.

Top Finishers
  • Stevens' top-five runners were spread by 47.6 seconds, while the Ducks' top-seven were spread by 1:10.4.
  • Sophomore Robby Russo was the third Duck to complete the course, finishing in a personal-best time of 26:49.5 to place 37th.
  • Sophomore Hayden Daly trimmed nearly 37 seconds off his previous personal-best time to finish 40th with a time of 26:58.8.
  • Senior Dylan Peters rounded out the Ducks' top-five with a time of 27:03.4.
  • Freshman William Schulz finished sixth for the Ducks, turning in the best time of his first season on Castle Point (27.19.9) to place 52nd.
  • Junior Sean James completed Stevens' top-seven, using a 5:31.2 mile pace to place 54th with a personal-best time of 27:26.2.
  • Sophomore Hayden Daly was eighth for the team, completing the course in 27:48.8 to place 61st overall.
  • Sophomore Tom McKenna completed the course in 27:51.9 to finish 65th, while the freshman trio of Troy Tomasch (28:10.2), Matt Halvorsen (28:15.6) and Ronnie Melao (28:39.3) rounded out the Stevens contingent. Halvorsen was the final Stevens runner to set a new personal record. 

Harden's Thoughts
  • "Our first MAC Cross Country Championship was a first-class experience on a worthy course and we'd like to thank Hood College and the MAC office for their efforts in putting on an outstanding meet. We learned at the Awards Ceremony from MAC Executive Director, Ken Andrews, that the MAC has been racing XC since 1913, this is the largest DIII conference meet in the country and this is the only sport in the MAC with every school represented and all teams participating simultaneously."
  • "The men raced first under sunny skies, no wind, and cool temperatures in the low 40's.  The leaves on the trees surrounding the course had either just fallen or turned to scenic shades of red, orange, and yellow. The course consisted of a 2,358-meter loop, which the men completed three times fully and finished with a fourth partial loop. The loop contained lots of turns, small inclines, and one short hill, so overall it was a fair, yet fast, test. The grass was longish and wet, and the course was wide open, which made for great spectating.  In short, it was a perfect day for cross country."
  • "Six of our men set lifetime personal bests today, including 5 of our top 7 runners, so we definitely had our best collective team race of the season. Our men were in eighth place with a team score of 218 at the first split mark (860 meters) and we did a nice job maintaining pace and overtaking other runners to the halfway point of the race where we had our lowest team score of the day at 133 points and seventh place. While several Ducks were able to continue passing people in the second half of the race, as a unit we did not get the job done and actually lost some ground to the finish with 155 points."
  • "PJ Gunther had by far his best race this year, setting a seasonal best by almost a minute, and moving up from 45th place just past the half mile mark to 24th at two miles, and ultimately 14th at the finish. Sophomores Robby Russo and Hayden Daly really stepped up for us today, each lowering their personal bests by over half a minute and passing more than 23 competitors from the half-mile mark to the finish."

Up Next
  • After a two-week layoff, men's cross country returns to the course on Saturday, Nov. 16 for the Atlantic Region Championships, hosted by St. Lawrence College in upstate New York.

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Players Mentioned

Jake Catalano

Jake Catalano

6' 0"
Senior
Hayden Daly

Hayden Daly

5' 11"
Sophomore
PJ Gunther

PJ Gunther

6' 2"
Junior
Tom McKenna

Tom McKenna

6' 0"
Sophomore
Dylan Peters

Dylan Peters

5' 10"
Senior
Robby Russo

Robby Russo

5' 6"
Sophomore
Matt Halvorsen

Matt Halvorsen

6' 0"
First-Year
Sean James

Sean James

6' 0"
Junior
Ronnie Melao

Ronnie Melao

5' 11"
First-Year
William Schulz

William Schulz

5' 8"
Junior
Troy Tomasch

Troy Tomasch

5' 9"
First-Year

Players Mentioned

Jake Catalano

Jake Catalano

6' 0"
Senior
Hayden Daly

Hayden Daly

5' 11"
Sophomore
PJ Gunther

PJ Gunther

6' 2"
Junior
Tom McKenna

Tom McKenna

6' 0"
Sophomore
Dylan Peters

Dylan Peters

5' 10"
Senior
Robby Russo

Robby Russo

5' 6"
Sophomore
Matt Halvorsen

Matt Halvorsen

6' 0"
First-Year
Sean James

Sean James

6' 0"
Junior
Ronnie Melao

Ronnie Melao

5' 11"
First-Year
William Schulz

William Schulz

5' 8"
Junior
Troy Tomasch

Troy Tomasch

5' 9"
First-Year