Taxter Leads Men’s Cross Country to Third Place in Division II/III Challenge

Taxter leads the way in second-straight meet


McNamee was the third Skyhawk across the finish line, placing 21st out of 125 competitors

KUTZTOWN, Pennsylvania (September 14, 2019) – The Stonehill College men's cross country team, who is ranked No. 1 in the East Region and No. 18 in the National U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) preseason rankings, finished third out of 13 teams at the Kutztown Division II/III Challenge, hosted by Kutztown University on Saturday morning.

Malone University led the way with the title tallying 41 points, as four of their seven runners finished in the top 20. Southern Connecticut University followed with 56 points and second place, while Stonehill took home third with 89 points.

The Skyhawks saw senior All American Lucas Taxter led the way as he was named the individual champion of the eight-kilometer race with a time of 25:50.5.

Junior Jeff Pichie and sophomore Nickolas McNamee crossed the finish line in ninth and 21st out of 125 competitors. Pichie clocked in a time of 26:12.1 while McNamee ran the course in 26:46.5.

Freshman Colin Black was the next Skyhawk across the finish line as he took home 27th with a time of 27:04.7. Junior Chris McCaffrey was the final scorer for the Purple & White as he finished 31st with a time of 27:15.5.

Freshmen Reilly Johnston and Andrew Janus finished in 34th and 39th, respectively to round out the seven runners for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill will take two weeks off before heading back out to Pennsylvania to compete in the Lehigh Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, October 5. 

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