NEWARK, N.J. (October 10, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s cross country team turned in a great team effort at the 8k course in Newark’s Branch Brook Park as the Ducks placed each of their top five runners among the top 18 finishers to finish first among Division III participants at New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Highlander Open on Sunday. Freshman Andrew Turnage placed ninth with a time of 26:51 to lead the squad. From places one through five, the team’s mean time of 27:24 was the fastest average ever recorded by a Stevens squad.
Also scoring near the top of the leaderboard for Stevens was Turnage’s classmate Michael Cahill, who placed 11th with a time of 27:20. The final three Ducks who scored points all crossed the finish line within three seconds of each other.
Steve Chick and Dominic Catalano were nearly side-by-side at the finish, at 27:43.51 and 27:43.91 good for 15th and 16th respectively. Julian Gallo was right on their heels at 27:45, though a runner from St. Thomas Aquinas snuck in between the Ducks for Gallo’s 18th place result. Overall, the difference in time between the 1-6 Stevens finishers was a mere 54 seconds.
Catalano’s time was three minutes faster than his 8k time earlier this season, and Gallo’s time was a lifetime personal record.
The Ducks were the top Division III team at the event, and nearly bested all Division II teams as well. There were over 150 runners in the field.
“It was just a super effort by our men’s team today,” said head coach John Crawford.