Men's XC runs to sixth-place finish at Mike Woods Invitational

LEICESTER, N.Y. — With several other Mideast Regional teams in attendance, the Elizabethtown College men's cross country team wanted to prove it shouldn't be taken lightly in the coming weeks. The Blue Jays were the highest-finishing team from the Mideast Saturday, despite not being at full strength, at the 37th Annual Geneseo Mike Woods Invitational, placing sixth with 238 points.

Elizabethtown went into the race feeling like it had a chip on its shoulder. The Jays were seventh in the most recent Division III Regional Rankings from the USTFCCCA, behind Dickinson (fourth) and Messiah (sixth), who were also present at Geneseo for Saturday's 8,000-meter race.

Zach Trama was in the top 20 for the third time this season and in the top ten for the second time in three races as he set a new 8k PR. Trama was sixth overall Saturday in a field of 534 competitors, running 25:14.3.

Matt Shenk, in his first 8,000-meter race since 2013 in the Blue Jay uniform, was the next to finish, placing 31st overall in 25:41.6. Shenk's time was also a PR, nearly dropping a full minute off his previous best from the 2013 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional.

For the first time since his freshman season, Adam Harriger cracked the 27-minute mark Saturday and almost went sub-26. The senior finished 61st in 26:05.9, his fastest 8k since the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble in 2012. Keegan McDonough also set a new PR with his 26:20.1. McDonough was 81st.

Ryan Conway was the Jays' fifth point-scorer, giving E-town five in the top 100. Conway was 92nd at 26:26.0.

Elizabethtown ended the race with a total of 238 points, the sixth-lowest of the 38 teams participating. E-town finished one spot above Dickinson (241 points) and four places higher than former MAC rival Messiah (330 points).

The men's cross country team has a week off next weekend before competing at the Inter-Regional Border Battle at Rowan University in two weeks (Sat. Oct. 17).

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Conway: 6' 0"; Senior

Adam Harriger: 6' 1"; Senior

Keegan McDonough: 5' 11"; Junior

Zach Trama: 6' 2"; Senior

Matt Shenk: 5' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Ryan Conway
: 6' 0"; Senior

Adam Harriger
: 6' 1"; Senior

Keegan McDonough
: 5' 11"; Junior

Zach Trama
: 6' 2"; Senior

Matt Shenk
: 5' 7"; Senior