October 9, 2021

The Basics

• The lead: For the second team event in a row, sophomore Liam Concannon was the top finisher for the Stevens Institute of Technology men's cross country team Saturday at the DeSales Invitational, hosted by DeSales University. 
• Location: DeSales University Cross Country Course - Center Valley, Pennsylvania
• Short Story: Using a pace of 5:43.75 per mile, Concannon completed the eight-kilometer course in a time of 26:54.3 to lead Stevens' 13-runner contingent, finishing 11th out of 189 runners in the field. Concannon trimmed more than 37 seconds off his time from his first collegiate race, which took place four weeks ago. Messiah University's Logan Horst won the individual title, completing the course in 26:11.8. DeSales won the team title on its home course, totaling 64 points, with an average course completion time of 27:01. Messiah finished second with 73 points, while York (107), Kutztown (107) and Stevens (117) rounded out the top five. A total of 17 schools competed in the event, including a pair of Division II institutions. The course will serve as the host site of the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship.
• Of Note: Two student-athletes made their collegiate cross country debuts.

Top Finishers

• The Ducks' average completion time was 27:29. Despite Kutztown placing a pair of runners in the top-10, the Ducks finished just 10 points out of fourth place. 
• Stevens' top-five finishers were spread by 1:26.1 and the top seven were separated by 2:13.1. 
• Stevens placed all five of its scoring runners inside the top-50, with four placing inside the top-25. Stevens was one of just three schools in the field to place four runners in the top-25.
• Junior Ronnie Melao was the second finisher for the Ducks, completing the eight-kilometer course in 27:15 to place 17th, while setting a new personal best.
• Sophomore Jake Aylmer and junior Matt Halvorsen finished 23rd and 24th, respectively. Aylmer finished the course in 27:27.2, while Halvorsen finished the race 3.7 seconds later. Halvorsen trimmed nearly 25 seconds off his previous fastest collegiate 8K.
• Sophomore Dhavan Antala was the final scoring runner for the Ducks, placing 45th with a time of 28:20.4
• Junior Troy Tomasch (28:28.2) led the next group of finishers, with first-year Jake Porco (29:07.4), senior Cory Philippe (29:42.0), first-year Mason Brewster (30:06.1), junior Andrew Donohue (30:33.8), sophomore Bryan Onody (31:19.0), first-year Xavier McWilliams (32:16.4), and junior Philip Szkudlarski (32:22.9) completing the Ducks' contingent. The event marked the first collegiate competition for Onody and McWilliams.

From the Course - Head Coach Lance Harden

• "This was our first-ever trip to DeSales' cross country course, so it served as an important preview for our upcoming MAC Championships. The course is old-school, starting in their main quad and heading continuously uphill for the entire first mile into neighboring corn fields. The men then have a series of challenging hills throughout the second mile and start of the third mile, while the women head back down the same incline through the quad again. The men run downhill from around 2.5 miles to almost the four-mile mark, before finishing with one extended hill in the beginning of the final mile. The women navigate a series of turns and short hills at the beginning of the third mile before ascending one longer hill just before the three-mile mark. We're really glad that we raced here today, as now we have clear adjustments to make for MAC's."
• "Our men took a strong step forward collectively today. Nearly all of them ran faster than the opener at Lebanon Valley (on a much tougher course at DeSales) and most of them improved by around 40 seconds. Our top four runners all set lifetime personal bests. Cross country is a true team sport that requires five finishers, and our team score was hurt significantly by the gap between our fourth and fifth runners—nearly a minute. We will need to close that margin to be competitive in three weeks."

Up Next

• Men's cross country returns to the course on Saturday, Oct. 16 for the Interregional Border Battle, hosted by Rowan University at the Gloucester County DREAM Park. The site will also serve as the host course for the inaugural Metro Region Championship in mid-November.

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