Taxter once again led the Skyhawks with a second-place finish individually

Taxter led the Skyhawks with his runner-up finish

KUTZTOWN, Pennsylvania (September 15, 2018) – The Stonehill College men's cross country team, ranked No. 1 in the East Region and No. 15 in the nation in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Preseason Poll, finished second with 38 points at the Kutztown Division II/III Challenge Saturday morning.

Malone University took home the team title with 30 total points, seeing George McCartney take home the individual title with a time of 26:28.0 in the eight-kilometer race. The Skyhawks placed second out of 11 teams totaling 38 points, and Northeast-10 Conference foe Southern Connecticut State University placed third with 102 points. Salisbury University totaled 149 points, taking home fourth place, while host Kutztown rounded out the top five teams with 150 points.

Senior Lucas Taxter was the first Skyhawk to cross the finish line with a time of 26:29.9 in the eight-kilometer race taking home the runner-up mark. Sophomore Kevin Wheelock wasn't far off Taxter's time, finishing in fifth place with a time of 26:38.6.

Jeff Pichie was the next Skyhawk to clock in, finishing with a time of 26:52.3, placing eighth out of 128 competitors. Senior Riley Dowd and freshman Nickolas McNamee placed 11^th and 12^th, respectively, to round out the Skyhawk's top five runners. Dowd clocked in a time of 26:58.4 and McNamee finished the course in 26:59.9.

Senior Alexander Demeule placed 15^th overall with a time of 27:13.0, while freshman Shane Braz took home a top 25 finish, placing 24^th with a time of 27:44.3.

Other Performances:

Christopher Kelly                                      28:06.0, 31^st

Lawrence Carney                                      28:23.7, 35^th

Sean Conlan                                              28:28.3, 38^th

Chris Gendron                                           28:30.4, 40^th

Evan Kennedy                                           28:56.5, 50^th

The Skyhawks take some time off before competing in the New England Championships on Saturday, October 6 at Franklin Park in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  

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