MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle men's cross country team started the 2016 season off in impressive fashion on Saturday, placing third at Wickham Park at the Sunshine State Pre-Conference Meet, hosted by Florida Tech.
Embry-Riddle - 3rd of 11 (Meet Results)
Embry-Riddle put three runners in the top-20 en route to a third-place showing, scoring 82 total points, finishing behind Florida Southern (49) and Saint Leo (60). The Eagles' total time was 2:12.56.57 with an average finish of 26:35.32.
The Eagles
Returning from a redshirt season in 2015,
Paul McKenna picked up right where he left off as a sophomore in 2014, finishing fourth in 25:37.17. Following close behind McKenna was
Matt Graves in sixth, as the fellow 2015 redshirt ran a time of 26:03.58 for the Blue and Gold. Freshman
Paris Williams made his collegiate debut with a 20th-place showing in 26:46.99, with
Noah Kemp close behind in 26:49.55 for a 22nd-place finish.
Brian Cheluget rounded out the ERAU scorers with a time of 27:39.28, good for 33rd overall.
Stephen Dietz made his Embry-Riddle debut in 43rd place (28:06.08), as did
Patrick White in 53rd (28:27.58).
Andrew Carosi (29:11.21) and
Adam Lawrence (29:45.41) finished 64th and 68th, respectively, while
Calahan Warren finished 17th overall as an unattached athlete, running a 26:36.63.
Qoutable
"We had a solid open9ng to the 2016 season today," Head Coach
Mike Rosolino said. "It was good experience for both our freshman to get an 8K under the belt, and some of our upperclassmen back to racing distance. We have some work to do to be where we want to be at the end of the season, and we'll get back to work and get better."
Next Up
Embry-Riddle will return to Daytona Beach to host the annual ASICS Embry-Riddle Classic on Saturday, Sept. 17 on the ERAU athletic campus.
