Oct. 13, 2012
PRINCETON, N.J. - Led by senior Jon Mazzio's third-place finish, the men's cross country team won the Princeton Invitational Championship 8K on Saturday afternoon. 24 teams totaling 163 runners competed in the race.
His third-place overall finish marks the third time this season that Mazzio has finished first for the Hawks. With his time of 24:17*, paced by a 4:53 mile, Mazzio finished just 19 seconds behind the race winner. The senior captain took 1:39 off of his 2011 Princeton Invitational time and set a new personal-best time in the 8K, cutting just over five seconds off of his previous time of 24:42.22.
Junior Aaron Leskow finished second for the Hawks for the second consecutive time this season, clocking in just four seconds later than Mazzio at 24:21*, good for a fourth-place finish. Leskow took 45 seconds off of his time from last season's Princeton Invitational and 32 seconds off of his former personal-best time (25:06).
Sophomore Logan Mohn finished in the Hawks top-five for the third time this season, completing the race in 24:34* and placing 11th overall. Mohn ran 59 seconds faster than his 2011 Princeton time (25:33) and crushed his former personal-best time by 32 seconds.
Junior Mike Rankin and freshman Paul Szulewski crossed the finish line 13th and 15th, respectively. Like Mohn, Rankin, who crossed the finish line in 24:44*, also ran 59 seconds faster than his 2011 Princeton time. The junior sliced 34 seconds off of his former personal-best in the 8K (25:18). Szulewski, who clocked in just two seconds later at 24:46* in his second race of the 2012 season, took 1:10 off of last season's Princeton time and just over 20 seconds off of his personal best (25:07.4).
For a complete list of all Championship participants, click here.
In the Open 8K, four runners finished in the top 20 for Saint Joseph's in a race that saw 75 runners from 12 teams. The Hawks finished third behind Marist and Haverford.
Sophomore Brady Deckert and junior Max Margiotta led SJU with 11th and 12th place finishes, respectively. Deckert checked in at 26:18* in his first collegiate 8K while Margiotta clocked in two seconds later with a time of 26:20*, an exact 2:13 improvement on his personal-best in the 8K.
In their first collegiate 8K race, freshmen Quinn Davis and Scott Davis finished the meet just ten seconds apart in 14th and 19th, respectively. Q. Davis set his collegiate 8K time at 26:26*, while S. Davis stands with a time of 26:36* in the 8K.
Junior Dave Manion rounded out the top-five for the Hawks, completing the race in 26:49*, good for 28th place. Manion improved on his former personal-best in the 8K by 1:21.
For a complete list of all Open participants, click here.
The Hawks will stay in Philadelphia to compete in the Atlantic 10 Championships on Friday, October 27. The meet will be held on the course of the Belmont Plateau at West Fairmount Park, while start time is to be determined.
Note: "*" denotes personal-best time
