Men's XC places fourth, prepares for postseason

The men’s cross country team continued to prepare for the postseason on Saturday, when they competed against 12 other teams in the SUNY Geneseo Invitational. They finished solidly in fourth place, although Head Coach John Izzo was not overly impressed with the team’s performance. “We ran decently,” Izzo said. “I felt we could’ve been better, even though many of the guys ran their best times of the year.”As has been the case all season, senior Dan Duett was the top finisher among the men. He ran the eight-kilometer course in 26:13 to finish ninth overall. Junior Chris Nolan was next for the team, finishing 17th among the scorers, as he completed the race in 27:00. Freshman Dan Mueller was 32nd, posting a time of 27:35. Junior Andrew Dylag was right behind Mueller, finishing 33rd with a time of 27:37. Rounding out the scoring for the team was junior Ian Slattery, who ran 27:42 to finish in 34th place. Also finishing in the top 50 overall, although they did not contribute to team scoring, were junior Kevin McGettrick, sophomore Andrew Whitbeck and freshman Nick Roosa.”We’re in good shape right now, we just need to tune up,” Izzo said. “I think everyone is confident that we’re better than we were last year.”The men will not compete this weekend, as they will participate in the informal Alumni Run on Saturday. Their next meet will take place on Oct. 16 when they host the UR Invitational, their last regular season preparation for the postseason, which starts on Oct. 30 with the University Athletics Association Championships. Although they will spend much of the next several weeks practicing, the focus has already turned to the final regular season meet and the postseason. “We’re really at a stage where we just have to go out and do it,” Izzo said. “They just have to believe that they’re as good as they are.” Swidler can be reached at dswidler@campustimes.org.