The University of Rhode Island men’s cross country team competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship over the weekend, placing third out of 14 schools for its first top-three finish at the event since 1980.
On Saturday, the Rams traveled to Cedarville, Ohio, where the meet was hosted by the University of Dayton, to take part in the eight-kilometer race and had three runners place in the top 25.
This performance follows Rhody’s win at the New England Championship on Oct. 10. The last time the Rams placed as high as third in the A-10 Championship was in 1980, when there were only seven teams competing.
“In terms of their maturity, I think winning New England’s was a surprise,” URI Assistant Coach Brian Doyle said. “Even getting third [in A-10s], it was something they knew they could do, but I think there was still a little bit of doubt there. And now they’re a bit more sure of themselves, so the ceiling is blown off and they know that the sky’s the limit.”
Third-year Nick Martin was the highest-finishing Ram of the afternoon, claiming eighth place with a time of 24:08.60 and earning All-Atlantic 10 honors.
Behind Martin came third-year Garrett Hartline, who finished at 24:31.10 to take 16th place. Rounding out the top three Rhody finishers, third-year Brayton Gazerro crossed the finish line at 24:42.80 for 21st place.
“We’re really happy with this result here,” Hartline said. “It was a really good team effort.
This is the culmination of the whole season in terms of the team performance. Every single person on the team stepped up. We had some big performances to help us get to third place. It was a really close race between third and fourth, so every single point mattered.”
URI sat in sixth place around the six-kilometer mark of the meet, but Gazerro jumped nine spots, and second-year Maddox Jordan passed 14 runners to help the Rams climb the leaderboard. Jordan finished in 35th place, followed closely by second-year Matt Lucas in 37th place.
The final two Rams runners were first-year Ryan Kaiser and third-year Jesse Principe, taking 56th place and 60th place, respectively. Principe surged in the final two kilometers, passing 11 runners.
“Basically we said everyone’s going to pass a few guys, three or four guys each,” Doyle said. “I think they’re a group that is tough. If you’re only doing that for yourself, you’re not going to be able to dig deep enough. But if you’re doing it for your teammates and everyone supporting you, it’s much easier to dig down deep. And I think that’s what those guys found.”
Loyola University Chicago took home the A-10 title with a 28-point first-place finish, followed by Saint Joseph’s University with 104 points. Rhody accumulated 116 points, narrowly beating out George Mason University, who finished with 118.
“Coach Doyle’s philosophy keeps us in shape for a long time,” Hartline said. “This season specifically, we’ve made a big jump, and I’m hoping that we continue to see that improvement.”
Following their top-three A-10 placement, the Rams will move on to the NCAA Regional Championship on Nov. 14, taking place in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.
