DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - The Messiah Men's Cross Country team enjoyed a fantastic start to their postseason today at the Middle Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted by Delaware Valley University. The Falcons, picked to finish third in the conference's pre-championship coaches poll, exceeded expectations with a second-place team finish, their highest finish since claiming the MAC team title in 2022. The Falcons totaled 51 points en route to their second-place finish, ending up closely behind just nationally-ranked Lebanon Valley (1st place, 36 points) and convincingly defeating Misericordia (3rd place, 76 points) for the third time this season, the team picked to finish second ahead of the Falcons in the poll. The Falcons improved remarkably from their first race on this course at the Aggie Invite earlier this year, dropping their top five total time from 2:12:50 (26:34 average) to 2:10:37 (26:07 average) thanks to a series of strong races amidst cool, windy conditions out on the course. The Falcons placed a remarkable seven runners in the top 20 and had eight runners who earned All-MAC status by finishing inside the top 30, a feat that allowed them to score such a low point total even while finishing in second place overall. The Falcons were buoyed by having two athletes earn First-Team All-MAC distinction and an additional five earning Second-Team All-MAC honors, with one also earning Third-Team honors. The Falcons' excellent collective efforts bode well as they look to the culmination of their season at the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional championships to be held in two weeks.
Race Action
Louka Fetter was the top Falcon to finish on the day in second place overall, earning this distinction for the first time in over a month and for the fourth time this season. Fetter spent the first half of his race with teammates
Kaleb Kabakjian and
Kyle Costello, who worked together in a pack with two other runners as Lebanon Valley College's top two runners ran away from the rest of the field from the beginning. Fetter trailed behind another athlete's surge that broke up the pack halfway, patiently waiting in fourth place for much of the second half of the race. Fetter made a strong move in the last half mile, moving into third and then second as he caught the second of LVC's top two runners. Fetter held his position to the end thanks to registering the quickest final two kilometers in the field, achieving the highest MACs finish in his cross-country career after finishing in seventh, seventh, and fifth in the previous three editions. Fetter crossed the line with a time of 25:25.7, a remarkable 38 second improvement on his race here earlier this season.
Kaleb Kabakjian was the second Falcon across the line, earning First Team All-MAC Honors behind a seventh place finish. Kabakjian ran a remarkably consistent race after beginning the first half of his race in a pack with Fetter and Costello, finding himself in seventh place at the two-mile mark and holding the same place to the finish line after passing one athlete and being passed by a different athlete. Kabakjian's finish stands as an incredible improvement on his placement at MACs last year, when he finished in 20th with Second-Team status. Kabakjian's time of 25:50.4 also stands as a 28 second improvement on his performance at the same course earlier this season, supplementing the Falcons' improvement.
Kyle Costello was the third Falcon to finish, matching his highest finish so far this season that was also achieved at Rowan, achieving a place of 11th overall and Second Team All-MAC honors. Costello went out strongly with Fetter and Kabakjian and spent the first half of the race in the top seven before finding himself in 10th place during the fourth mile of the race after several surges had been made toward the front and several slower-starting runners had begun to surround him. Costello persevered well to the finish in isolation from any teammates, racing those around him well and ending up with a time of 26:12.9 in eleventh behind a 66 second drop in time from his first race on this course.
Sean Baxter ran a fantastic race to finish as the fourth Falcon, earning Second Team All-MAC honors with a 15th place finish overall. Baxter began his race just ahead of teammate
Samuel Hennett, with both splitting reasonable times of 5:23 and 5:24 respectively through the first mile. Baxter was placed 23rd after two kilometers but continued to move well throughout the field, splitting a remarkable time of 5:13 during his third mile as he improved to 16th place overall and pulled along Hennett, who followed his teammate's move. Baxter ran very consistently in the second half of his race as Hennett continued to follow, passing one competitor during the last mile to finish in 15th with a time of 26:32.6. Hennett, a freshman, finished right behind in 17th place overall with a time of 26:37.9 to finish as the sixth Falcon, a performance that earned him MAC Rookie of the Year honors as the highest-placed first year athlete.Â
John Condon ran a very unique race to finish in 16th place overall as the fifth Falcon, splitting Baxter and Hennett behind a remarkable second half and final two kilometers to his race. Condon found himself behind a lot of traffic at the start, crossing through the two-kilometer mark in 56th place and only improving to 46th after two miles. Condon passed an unbelievable 25 athletes during the next three kilometers to improve to 21st, then dropped another five points during the last two kilometers to finish with Second Team All-MAC distinction. Despite coming on the heels of a lengthy bout of illness, Condon's time of 26:35.7 still improved on his performance of 26:46.8 from earlier in the year by 11 seconds.Â
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Josiah Carnwath was the final Falcon to score points as the seventh amongst his teammates, running a very strong race to finish in 20th overall and become the last athlete to earn Second Team All-MAC honors. Carnwath spent the entire race apart from any teammates after beginning his race with a 5:31 mile that saw him gain a few seconds on teammates
Zeke Colyer,
Nathaniel Coggins, and
Jacob Sahlstrom. Carnwath proceeded to run a very smart race, moving up steadily throughout the field to improve from 34th to 27th and then 18th at the first three timing mats. Carnwath held his own during the final two kilometers, running a time of 26:52.4 while holding onto the final spot in the top twenty. Carnwath's finish represents an incredible improvement across this season for the junior, who had never previously raced at MACs.
A strong group of
Zeke Colyer,
Nathaniel Coggins, and
Jacob Sahlstrom were the next three finishers for the Falcons after beginning their races together through the first mile. Coggins surged ahead during the second mile and brought Sahlstrom with him behind a quick 5:22 split, allowing the two to gain in the field as they gained a gap on Colyer. All three athletes ran roughly the same time during the third mile as Coggins began to stretch away from Sahlstrom, but Colyer found his teammates again during the fourth mile as he passed Sahlstrom and began to run alongside Coggins. Colyer used a fantastic close to pass 10 athletes in the final two kilometers, a finish that allowed the senior to earn his first-ever MAC medal and Third Team All-MAC distinction in 27th after previously earning 40th and 41st in two previous years. Coggins was the next Falcon to finish after trailing Colyer's surge to the finish, placing ninth amongst his teammates with a time of 27:21.8 in 34th place overall.
Jacob Sahlstrom rounded out the trio of Falcons to finish tenth amongst his teammates, placing 39th overall with a time of 27:28.6.
Ryan Klemick finished as the eleventh Falcon on the day, running an exceptional time of 27:36.5 that sits within just 12 seconds of his lifetime best in the 8k. Klemick went out very cautiously with a 5:49 first mile, finding himself in just 94th place at the two-kilometer mark. Klemick continued to run a very smart race, moving up convincingly throughout the field with rapidly quickening mile splits to ultimately finish in 46th overall.
Micah Kao, racing on extremely short notice as the team's alternate, represented the Falcons very well with a time of 28:14.9 after setting a lifetime personal best in the 5k on the track just several days ago.
Up Next
The Falcons look with anticipation to the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, their final guaranteed postseason race that will determine the team's fate at Nationals. The top seven individuals to finish who are not a part of a qualifying team will be invited to nationals, with team finishes at the Regional Championships also being used to select the teams that are invited to race at nationals together. After finishing in third place in the region three years ago before registering a sixth and seventh place finish over the last two years, the Falcons will look to improve on their recent finishes and race competitively with the strong teams surrounding them in the Mid-Atlantic.Â
