SJU Athletics Photos

It was a tough season for the Saint Joseph's Men's Cross Country team in 2004, losing several of their top runners to injury, but Head Coach Mike Glavin's squad stayed tough and held their own against many of the nation's best teams.

With Atlantic 10 Champion Andre Laboy out for the season, fellow junior Mike DiDio stepped up as the top runner for the Hawks. DiDio started the season strong with a third place finish at Penn State and a fifth place effort at the Paul Short Invitational. DiDio also competed at the NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind., finishing first for the Hawks and 104th overall.

While DiDio held the top position for the Hawks, there were a number of other runners who stepped up for the team as well. Sophomore Teddy Meyers had two great races at the start of the season before he, too, succumbed to injury. Junior Joe Mohn returned after battling health problems last year to be a top contender for the Hawks. His summer of high mileage paid off, as he consistently finished in the Hawks top three.

Saint Joseph's opened their season in Pittsburgh taking part in the Duquesne Duals in early September. Mohn finished first for the Hawks and third overall to start the season strong. Finishing second for the Hawks and seventh overall was junior Dave Masse, who was also a consistent performer for the Hawks early on, until injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Rounding out the top three was rookie Will Rowland who placed tenth overall for his first collegiate cross country race.

The following week, the Hawks traveled to State College, Pa. to participate in the 26th annual Spiked Shoe Invitational. With a full roster, the Hawks finished fourth out of an 18-team field. DiDio paced the Hawks with a third place finish overall (in a field of 231 runners), earning Atlantic 10 Cross Country Performer of the Week honors. Close behind DiDio was senior captain Collin Martin who finished ninth overall.

At the end of September, the Hawks competed in the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University. DiDio again came out on top for the Hawks with an impressive fifth place finish. He was the only Hawk to finish in the top ten.

The first weekend in October found only part of the team competing at Belmont Plateau in Fairmont Park at the La Salle Invitation. Junior Rich Anderson led this pack finishing 30th overall. Jeremy Fallis, Chris Kessler and Will Rowland also competed.

Two weeks later, the team split with a few of the top runners competing at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. and the rest of the team racing at the Lafayette Invitational in Easton, Pa. At Pre-Nationals, DiDio finished 104th among the nations best runners. Not far behind him were teammates, Mohn and Martin to round out the top three for the Hawks. In Easton, senior Joe Correnti finished first for the Hawks and 84th overall.

By the end of October, injuries left the Hawks with little depth as the team returned to Pittsburg. DiDio led the pack and had SJU in contention for top team honors when a sudden illness forced him to pull up and withdrawal from the race with just 1000m to go. Joe Mohn ended up placing seventh overall, receiving All-Conference honors for the second time. No other Hawk was able to crack the top ten.

The Hawks postseason saw little success at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals or IC4As. The season was disappointing for the Hawks, who had hoped to fare much better in the conference. The Hawks look forward to returning a healthy group of runners to get the Crimson & Gray on top next year.