Oct. 31, 2009

Championship Results

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. - The University of Dayton men's cross country program achieved its best-ever finish in 29 years of competition with a third-place result at the Atlantic 10 Championships on Saturday. The team braved wet and muddy conditions over the 8K race at Saint Louis' Forest Park Course.

Dayton's Chris Lemon won the men's individual title with a time of 26:13.3, finishing just six-tenths of a second ahead of Saint Joseph's Kevin McDonnell in one of the closest finishes in recent history. Although St. Joseph's claimed the team title, Lemon was UD's first-ever conference champion.

"It was a fun race, and I think everybody on our team really put themselves out there today," said Lemon, who has been named Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week in five of seven weeks this season. "It was exciting. Today was all about positioning. I didn't pay attention to any of the markings on the course or the time, I was just out there running, getting myself into the best position possible."

Also among the top finishers for the Flyers were redshirt senior Mike Andersen and junior Matt Lemon, who both finished in the race's top-nine spots and earned all-conference honors. Andersen, who has been an all-conference runner for four years, placed sixth overall in his final A-10 meet, while Lemon ran in ninth position to help solidify UD's team standing.

The Flyers were the only team in the conference to place three runners in the top nine spots.

Redshirt freshman Greg Roeth earned Rookie of the Year honors for the Flyers after posting a 25th-place finish with a time of 27:38. To secure the honor, however, he had to beat out teammate Nate Adessi, who finished closely behind.

The Flyers will now get a week off to savor their success before heading to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Bloomington, Ind.