June 26, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -

Following an injury-plagued 2004 season, the Saint Joseph's University men's cross country team returned to prominence in 2005. Backed by a healthy roster of veterans, the Hawks posted an impressive three top-10 finishes, including fourth-place at the Atlantic 10 Championships.

Although several of the team's veteran runners did not compete, Hawks received solid performances from its younger harriers in the season-opening Fordham Invitational. Saint Joseph's, which placed seventh in the field of 17, was led by sophomore Will Rowland's 23rd place finish (26:34).

Two weeks later, SJU earned a fourth-place finish at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational. Junior Teddy Meyers was brilliant in his first race of the season, topping a field of 189 runners in a time of 25:29 to win the individual title. The Hawks also received exceptional efforts from seniors Joe Mohn and Dave Masse. Mohn finished 20th in a time of 26:36, while Masse placed 30th overall in his first race with a time of 27:06.

Meyers posted a second strong outing a week later at the Paul Short Run as he helped Saint Joseph's place 17th in the field of 44. Meyers earned his second top ten finish of the season, placing sixth (24:04) out of 300 competitors. Senior Mike DiDio also had a strong showing in his first meet of the season, placing 27th with a time of 24:29.

In the final test before A-10s, Meyers again turned in an impressive performance, placing fourth in the field of 294 at the Penn State University National Cross Country Meet. As a team, the Hawks posted a team finish of 23rd out of 37 teams in the 5.2 mile run.

After missing the 2004 A-10 Championship due to injury, Meyers proved himself among the conference elite in 2005, finishing second overall to earn All-Conference honors. Meyers, who was joined by Rowland on the All-Conference Team, helped the Hawks to a fourth-place finish at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships held at Belmont Plateau.

At the following week's NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional at Lehigh University, Saint Joseph's placed 13th out of the field of 28. Meyers again paced the Hawks, posting a time of 31:13.3 on the 10K course for a 24th-place finish. Senior Joe Mohn placed 37th out of 195 competitors with a time of 31:31.6 while Rowland finished 42nd with a 31:36.9 time.

The Hawks capped the season at the IC4A Championship. As it was all season, Meyers led the way for SJU, finishing 34th, while Mohn placed 51st.

With a majority of the roster returning for the 2006 campaign, the Hawks are poised to remain among the elite teams in the A-10 and Northeast for years to come.