Hawk Men Run to Fifth at NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals :: Murray Leads Men With 13th-Place Showing; Finds Out Sunday About Nationals Qualification at 7:00 p.m.

	Printer-Friendly Format E-mail this article Murray's 13th-place finish paced the Hawks on Saturday.

Hawk Men Run to Fifth at NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals

Murray Leads Men With 13th-Place Showing; Finds Out Sunday About Nationals Qualification at 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 15, 2008

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Results

PRINCETON, N.J. - The Saint Joseph's men's cross country team put together its best performance in years as it finished fifth in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional held at West Windsor Fields. The Hawks finished 14 points behind host, Princeton, as Kyle Murray was 13th overall in the race. Georgetown and Penn State earned automatic bids to the National Championship.

"All in all, the boys ran every bit of what we were capable of," Head coach Mike Glavin said. "Fifth is a nice result. I'm happy [with the team] overall and happy individually [with the results].

Murray's 13th-place showing saw him cross the line in 32:28. He was the fifth runner not to be on an automatic qualifying team, thereby missing on an automatic berth to the National Championship by one spot.

Brian Guterl, SJU's top finisher at the A-10 Championship two weeks ago was 22nd in a time of 33:00. Jonathan Sclafani, who joined Guterl on the A-10 All-Conference squad, was 34th in a time of 33:32.

Junior Jimming Jennings (33:43) and graduate student Will Rowland (34:06) rounded out the scoring in 41st and 49th, respectively, over the ten-kilometer course.

Freshman Kevin McDonnell was 68th in a time of 34:33, while Justin Heinze was in 131st place, completing the course in 36:35.

The top two teams and the top four runners not on qualifying teams earn spots to Nationals as well. If the NCAA selection committee grants nationally-ranked Villanova an at-large bid on Sunday, Murray would then qualify. The at-large selections are set to be announced at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow.

The senior co-captain was in line to challenge for the Atlantic 10 individual championship, but a back injury caused him to drop out of the race after three miles.

The last SJU runner to qualify for the NCAA Championship was Andre Laboy in 2003. The NCAA Championship will be held November 24 in Terre Haute, Indiana, hosted by Indiana State University.

Individual Results

13. Kyle Murray 32:28

22. Brian Guterl 33:00

34. Jonathan Sclafani 33:32

41. Jimmy Jennings 33:43

49. Will Rowland 34:06

68. Kevin McDonnell 34:33

131. Justin Heinze 36:35

Team Results

1. Georgetown 27

2. Penn State 73

3. Villanova 84