Jaylen Amaker – Contributing Writer

Men’s XC runs into third-place finish

The men’s cross country team finished third out of the 36-team field on Sept. 20 at the Dickinson College Long Course-Short Course Invitational. The Bison finished in third place for the 8k race and fifth place in the 4k race.

Michael McGowan ’15 led the way as the best individual racer for the Orange and Blue at the Invitational, finishing ninth (12:13.10) in the 4k out of 260 participants.

“Overall, I thought the team worked really well together in both the 8k and 4k races,” McGowan said. “We had guys in the top-20 for both races, and we really just came in there without our top guys and finished up with a third-place finish in the combined race. This was a good race to show the depth we have on the team.”

Luke Giugliano ’17 and Peter Murray ’16 also ran well in the 8k, which had 233 runners. Giugliano finished 11th (26:27.31), while Murray finished 14th with 26:33.20. Even without some of their top runners, the Bison did not slow down.

“We have a strong core of runners, and this weekend’s competition is a testament to how dangerous we can be,” Andrew Garcia-Garrison ’15 said. “Depth is needed to win the league, and I think from top to bottom we have guys who are capable of winning and/or finishing in the top-20 of every race. It was great to see Michael McGowan back up and running at a high level.”

The men’s cross country team’s next competition is at the Panorama Farms Invitational on Sept. 26. The Bison will enter this competition in Charlottesville, Va. at full strength.

“We are happy with the third-place trophy. Our next competition is a huge one and we are focused on having a good performance,” Garcia-Garrison said.