BIDDEFORD, Maine – Behind top-15 finishes from freshman Will Connelly (Barrington, R.I.) and junior James Dwyer (Berlin, Conn.), the Endicott men's cross country team finished fourth overall at the University of New England (UNE) Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
The host Nor'easters won the meet with 75 points, while Wentworth (79), and Plymouth State (89), ranked ahead of Endicott (104). Worcester State University rounded out the top-5 at today's UNE Invitational with a team score of 118.
Connelly made his way through the 8-kilometer layout in 28:37 for a 10th place finish, while Dwyer crossed the line two-seconds later for 11th overall. The tandem averaged about 5:45 per mile in their first 8-kilomoter race of the young season.
Following Connelly and Dwyer to make up the rest of Endicott's top-5 were sophomore Patrick Finocchiaro (Salem, N.H.) and freshman Adam Germaine (Guilford, Conn.) who checked in at No. 20 (29:16) and No. 21 (29:22), respectively, and sophomore Brendan Sasse (Westport, Mass.) who finished in 45th place (30:41).
TOP QUOTE
"The men fought hard through their first 8k this year and showed a lot of composure in the race strategy," said Endicott men's cross country head coach Spencer Lange. "Both Will and Adam are having strong starts to their careers. They are being pushed by James and Patrick who have been constantly improving since last season. The next few weeks are going to include some key workouts, they are motivated and excited to get continue their hard work."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Connelly has finished first overall for the Gulls in the first two races of the 2016 season.
- Dwyer bettered his time from last year's UNE Invitational by more than a minute (1:18), and Finocchiaro was 28-seconds faster than his previous time from 2015.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott enjoys a week off to train before taking part in the Bowdoin Invitational on Saturday, September 24 at 11 a.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.