MONTEVALLO, Ala. – For the sixth time in as many seasons, the Embry-Riddle men's cross country team earned a top-five finish in regional competition as they placed fifth at the 2023 NCAA II South Region Championships on Saturday. The race, which was held at the 9.8K University of Montevallo Cross Country Course, saw the Eagles' top five runners place in the top 35 for a total of 110 points.  
 
Saturday's race featured an unusual challenge for the runners as jostling at the start of the race caused a runner to fall. in the process of navigating the obstacle, the Eagles' Brendon Shea and Nicholas Scarangelli each lost a shoe and both runners ran almost the entire race with just one shoe.  
 
Despite the setback, which Head Coach Mike Rosolino says "cost us", Tanner Rosolino was the first Eagle to cross the finish line with a time of 30:29.70. Andrew Stowe was next across, placing 14th in 30:53.30 followed by Shea who was 26th in 31:23.60. 
 
Tayan Benson (31:33.30) and Micah Blair (31:37.00) placed 31st and 32nd, respectively. 

"The men had a great effort today," Mike Rosolino said. "Tanner was a leader as he has been all year and Brendon and Nick were courageous in running with just one shoe for the majority of the race. Micah, Tayan and Brandon [Santangelo] also ran very strong races.  We are disappointed in the result and know that we are a top-three team in the region without the setback early in the race."
 
Lee (45 pts) had five top-15 finishers to take first place overall, while Florida Southern (85 pts), Mississippi College (90 pts) and Alabama-Huntsville (99 pts) rounded out the top five teams. 
 
The 2023 Embry-Riddle men's cross country season is presented by Radiology Associates.