MIDDLETOWN, Conn. —
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy men's cross country team placed fifth in a high caliber field at Wesleyan University's Cardinal Invitational on Saturday. The meet featured some of the top teams in the northeast, including three nationally ranked teams and four more holding top ten rankings in their respective regions.
The Bears were able to outrun teams like Union College, ranked ninth in the Mideast region, and Keene State College, ranked seventh in the East. Leading the team was captain
Paul Hobbs (Vacaville, Calif.), who had one of the best performances in program history. His final time of 24:57.6 was good for tenth overall in the field and was just the third instance of a Bears runner going sub-25 on an 8k course.
In second for the Academy was local legend
Brendan Fant (East Lyme, Conn.), who placed 32nd overall after crossing the finish line in 25:57, a 30-second personal best. His time was just outside the program's all-time top 20. Finishing third was sophomore
James Kuduk (Harleysville, Pa.), who ran 26:10 for 37th place while breaking his own personal best by 40 seconds.
Rounding out the top seven for the Bears were
Graham Fenn (Hyattsville, Md.) with his 27:10 for 71st;
Sam Myers (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), who finished 80th at 27:18;
Carlos Garcia (Bristow, Va.), placing 83rd at 27:20; and
Miles Taylor (Austin, Tex.), who ran 27:45 for 97th. Garcia and Taylor's times were also personal records for the 8k course.
"We had a fast course, beautiful racing conditions, and strong competition, and the team took full advantage," remarked head coach
Greg Ahnrud. "Paul showed that he can run with some of the best in the country; Brendan and James are knocking on the door of our all-time list; Graham was extremely impressive in his first ever 8k; and 13 of the 16 men who ran today set new PRs. We raced intelligently from top to bottom and showed some of the grit we lacked two weeks ago in the second half of the race."
Men's cross country will take next weekend off before making the big trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on October 3rd to compete in Lehigh University's Paul Short Run. The Paul Short is widely regarded as one of the top races of the regular season and typically features the best of the best from around the country.
FULL RESULTS
