BIDDEFORD, Maine- Competing in the University of New England Invitational, the Endicott men's cross country team finished third out of 15 schools in the meet, the highest finish for the men's program in recent history. 

The Gulls were led by a slew of new personal bests, highlighted by Zach Marshall's (Hinesburg, Vt.) fourth place finish overall on the 8k course in a time of 27:58.3.  The sophomore has now finished in the top-10 four times in his career, with three being top-five finishes.

Freshman Austin Landry (Readfield, Maine) made his Endicott debut and finished 12th among the 164-man field as he crossed the line in a time of 28:48.6. 

Fellow freshman Patrick Finocchiaro (Salem, N.H.) continued his strong start to his first year competing for the Gulls as he posted a time of 29:44.3 for his first collegiate 8k, finishing in 27th place.

James Dwyer (Berlin, Conn.) and Brendan Sasse (Westport, Mass.) finished 30th and 31st, respectively, crossing in times of 29:57.8 and 30:00.04 as they closed out the top-five for the Gulls.

INSIDE THE TIMES

• Marshall led the Gulls yet again, marking the ninth consecutive race he has done so as a member of the Endicott men's cross country team. 
• The Gulls third place finish as a team placed them behind just UNE and Wentworth, as the Gulls finished just 14 points back of the Leopards. Last year, Endicott finished fifth in a field of 12 teams.

TOP QUOTE

"I was happy to see our guys toughen out the first 8k of the season against a deep field," stated first year head coach Spencer Lange. "We were able to get some more experience racing conference competition and they showed a lot of improvement from week one to week two. With the amount of freshmen we have on the team, they did a good job racing smart and being patient. Overall, it was very encouraging finishing a few points back from second against another conference team."

WHAT'S NEXT

The Gulls have two weeks to prepare for the Bowdoin Invitational on September 26 at Bowdoin in Brunswick, Maine against a deep field. Endicott's first race in Massachusetts is on Saturday, October 10 at the James Early Invitational in Westfield, Mass.

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