NCAA DIII NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL MEN'S RESULTS
WATERFORD, Conn.- Competing in what would be the final race of the season, the Endicott men's cross country team finished 21st out of 55 squads at the Harkness Memorial Park in Waterford, Conn. The 21st place finish marks the best finish in program history, topping last year's 39th place finish.
The men were led by Austin Landry's (Readfield, Maine) 86th place finish as he traversed the 8k course in a time of 26:21.0. The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Rookie of the Year finished as the top Endicott runner for the first time this season, just 1:40 off the winning pace.
Landry's time was 25 seconds better than teammate Zach Marshall (Hinesburg, Vt.) who capped his stellar sophomore campaign with an 8k time of 26:46.8. Marshall ended the 2015 campaign as finishing as one of the top two runners in every one of Endicott's meets.
Freshman Patrick Finocchiaro (Salem, N.H.) concluded his strong freshman season by finishing 127th in the 380 runner field. Rounding out the top five of the Gulls were James Dwyer (Berlin, Conn.) and Noah Mondello (Gloucester, Mass.) as they finished 158th and 212th, respectively. Dwyer finished in a time time of 27:34.8 while Mondello closed in 28:15.8.
BEYOND THE TIMES
- Endicott was the second best CCC team in the meet, finishing just two teams back of Wentworth. Endicott's team score of 695 was only 20 points back of WIT as the Gulls finished 100 points ahead of the next closest CCC squad, UNE.
- Landry finished as Endicott's top runner for the first time all season, as he becomes the first Gull other than Zach Marshall to lead the team.
- The CCC Rookie of the Year, Landry beat his 8k performance at the CCC Championship by 26 seconds.
- The 18 place improvement (39th to 21st) from 2014 to 2015 for the men represented the largest improvement in the region.
TOP QUOTE
"I couldn't be happier for the men," said head coach Spencer Lange. "They've worked hard all year and brought it all together at the right time to race well during the championship season. They all rose to the occasion and handled the large field like they've been there before. Austin finished first for us with Zach close behind. Four of the guys ended up with PRs today. It's exciting to see them run so well at these big races, they are confident in the preparation. It was definitely a strong note to end the season."
THAT'S A WRAP
Endicott now heads into the offseason having produced one of the most successful seasons in program history under first year head coach Spencer Lange. The Gulls finished fourth at the CCC Championship which saw Landry receive CCC Rookie of the Year honors while both he and Marshall earned All-CCC nods for their finishes. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
