NEWVILLE, Pa. - The Messiah Men's Cross Country team performed very well today at the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, matching their regional ranking by finishing in fifth place as a team out of 31 schools. The Falcons ended up with 172 points behind three All-Region performances to take fifth, both metrics their strongest since 2022 after finishing sixth and seventh as a team during the last two years. Salisbury (sixth, 177 points) was close behind, while the Falcons put significant distance on MAC rival Misericordia (seventh, 231 points). The Falcons fell just short of closing the gap to Dickinson, ranked fourth in the region, who also confirmed their ranking with a fourth place finish with 154 points. Nationally-ranked squads Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, and MAC Champion Lebanon Valley College finished in that order as the top three, the same order found in the national poll.Â
The Falcons took advantage of excellent conditions to run very quickly on a difficult, hilly course, as emphasized by their exceptionally strong top five average time of 26:19. This number easily outpaces their top five average time of 26:42 from earlier in the season at the Dickinson Long/Short Invitational on the same course, as well as their 26:59 top five average time on the same course two years ago. In addition, every member of the Falcons' top five and six of the team's seven racers today ran their fastest time ever on the course, allowing them to compete as strongly as possible with the number of exceptionally deep teams around them.
Race Action
The Falcons were led by senior
Louka Fetter, who finished in 17th overall with All-Region honors. Fetter went out steadily for the first mile before following a surge at the front during a very quick second mile, working his way up from 36th at the mile to 20th at the 5k mark. Fetter maintained the same place in isolation from many competitors until the last kilometer, when he passed three athletes to ensure his placement inside the top 20. As long as 17th-ranked Carnegie Mellon is invited to go to the NCAA Division III National XC Championships as one of the top 32 teams in the nation, which is virtually assured, Fetter will qualify for Nationals as one of the top seven individuals in the region not a part of a qualifying team. Fetter's time of 25:44.49 also stands as his only performance under 26 minutes on this course in four tries, a significant improvement of 17 seconds on his previous best at Big Spring.Â
Senior
Sean Baxter ran an excellent race to finish as the second Falcon, his highest placement relative to his teammates in his entire career as a Falcon. Baxter ran a remarkable race, improving from never having qualified for Regionals before to finishing with All-Region honors by placing 34th overall. Baxter ran a patient race, passing through the mile in 5:14 in 63rd place before passing 25 competitors over the next two miles to find himself in 39th. Baxter passed a further five bodies to just slip inside the top 35 and earn All-Region honors thanks to a fantastic finishing time of 26:16.55, his best on the course by a remarkable 40 seconds.Â
Sophomore
Kaleb Kabakjian was the third Falcon to finish on the day, becoming the last athlete to earn All-Region honors with a 35th place finish. Kabakjian ran a strong race despite battling illness, spending most of his race trailing teammate
Kyle Costello slightly with a small gap back to Baxter. Kabakjian moved ahead of Costello just as the duo passed through the three-mile mark, with Baxter briefly passing Kabakjian before trailing the two with two miles to go. Kabakjian began to slowly stretch away from both teammates during the final stretch of the race before Baxter finished with an incredible surge to the line that was followed by Kabakjian. Kabakjian's time of 26:18.99 was a personal best for the course, improving on his time on the same course from earlier in the year by five seconds. Kabakjian's finishing placement of 35th also improves on his 41st-placed finish from last year's Regional Championships.
Sixth-year
Kyle Costello was the fourth Falcons to cross the line, running a fantastic time of 26:29.82 to place 37th, his highest finishing place at Regionals since 2021. Costello went out strongly ahead of both Kabakjian and Baxter in the opening stages of the race, passing through the mile in 45th place and trailing Fetter by only a few seconds through the first several miles of the race. Costello spent significant time with Kabakjian and Baxter throughout the race as he improved steadily throughout the field in the latter portion of the race, ultimately finishing just 11 seconds and two places adrift of Kabakjian by the finish. Costello's time of 26:29 also stands as his fastest on the course by a remarkable 52 seconds, his first time under 27 minutes in four attempts.
Freshman
Samuel Hennett finished as the final contributor to the Falcons' team score in fifth amongst his teammates, placing 49th overall with a time of 26:46.62. Hennett ran a remarkably patient race, coming through the mile in 80th place with a time of just 5:19.2 before moving up significantly during the hilly section of the woods, passing 18 competitors before 3k and seven more by the 5k mark. Hennett carried on strongly through the entire race despite competing in isolation from any teammates, passing six more athletes before the finish to just finish inside the top 50. Hennett's time improved on his first effort on this course earlier this season by 23 seconds, emphasizing the Falcons' improvements across the board.
Senior
John Condon and junior
Josiah Carnwath finished just one place apart in 69th and 70th overall respectively as the Falcons' sixth and seventh runners. Condon began his race a bit more quickly with a split of 5:13 as Carnwath began his race with Hennett through the first mile until all three teammates found each other right around the 3k. Hennett began to surge ahead after that point, while Condon and Carnwath ran the remainder of their races together. Condon's quick close enabled him to run a time of 27:13.09, finishing just ahead of Carnwath's 27:14.96 performance.
Up Next
Louka Fetter can expect to take his place next weekend on Saturday, November 22nd, at the NCAA Division III National XC Championships in Spartansburg, South Carolina. Nationals will be hosted at the Roger Milliken Center, with the men's race going off at 11am. The rest of the team finished their season well at today's Regional Championships and have the indoor track season to look forward to next.
