WINNECONNE, Wisc. – The No. 5 Haverford Men's Cross Country team placed fourth amongst a field of the top competition in the nation at the UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invitational Pre-National race on Saturday afternoon. Haverford scored 144 total points, more than 100 points clear of fifth-place No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer on a crisp, cool day for racing at the Lake Breeze Golf Club. The meet was a chance for teams to preview the 8K course that will be used for the NCAA Division III National Championships in November.
Senior Dylan Gearinger led the way for the Fords, finishing third overall in a time of 25:14.6. Senior Ryan Herlihy crossed in seventh with a time of 25:18.8. Senior Graham Peet passed the finish line in 25:31.9 for 14th overall, while senior Greg Morgan crossed in 42nd in a time of 25:58.7. Junior Sam McCalpin rounded out the Haverford scorers with a 78th place finish in 26:20.6. First years Jamie Moreland (105th, 26:32.9) and Peter Buckley (119th, 26:40.9) had impressive performances on a big stage. Junior David Watt competed in the open race, finishing in 38th place with a time of 27:16.3.
No. 1 North Central (Ill.) captured the race title with a 41 point performance. No. 6 Washington-St. Louis finished runner up with 97 points while No. 9 Calvin surprised with a 127 point showing, good for third.
A larger group of Haverford runners hit an 8K course a bit closer to home, competing at the Jack Saint Clair Memorial Championship at Philadelphia's Belmont Plateau. The Fords placed four runners within the top 10 at the meet, which featured Division II and III teams in addition to unattached entrants and running clubs. Matt Katz crossed in third (27:26.2), Conor Madden was fourth (27:26.2), Chris Goings finished sixth (27:46.2), and Hiro Kawakatsu was eighth (27:56.4).
Amos Karlsen (17th, 28:23.4), Nico Tripeny (21st, 28:41.1), Jack Hunter (22nd, 28:41.5), Ian Woodhouse (29th, 29:10.3), Jeffrey Allen (38th, 29:43.1), Simon Perales (39th, 29:46.3), Steve Gan (44th, 30:05.8), and Scott Kaiser (44th, 30:16.9) were other Haverford finishers within the top 50 in West Philadelphia.
Haverford will now have a bye week heading into the Centennial Conference Championships at Haverford's Alumni Cross Country Course on Saturday, October 27. The men's 8K championship will begin at noon. The Fords have captured four straight Centennial titles and 22 overall.