The AU men's cross country team had a successful run at the Patriot League Cross Country Championships on Saturday, winning their fifth straight title.
The team was led by junior Brendan Fennell's first-place finish, who was one of five AU runners to finish in the top eight spots. Fennell clocked in at 25:20.8 for his first Patriot League individual title.
Four other AU runners finished in the top eight to help give the team the win. Seniors Dan Beardslee and Awit Yohannes finished fourth and fifth respectively, while graduate student Conor Lanz took seventh. Sophomore Carlos Jamieson finished in eighth with a time of 26:18.1.
Fennell, Beardslee, Yohannes and Lanz all earned Patriot League First-Team All-League honors, taking four of the seven spots on the team. Jamieson received Second-Team All-League honors.
Despite the muddy conditions, the men finished with a total of 25 points, beating second-place Navy by a landslide with a 44 point differential.
"It was great to keep the tradition going under these usual circumstances," said head coach Matt Centrowitz, who was awarded Patriot League Men's Coach of the Year for the fifth straight season. "We were thrown a curveball with the weather and muddy course conditions. A million different things could have gone wrong. We're happy to come out of here healthy and moving toward regionals."
The women's team finished sixth overall, led by top-20 finishes by juniors Cathleen Ford and Kate Lilley. Ford finished 13th with a time of 24:32.8, while Lilley clocked in at 24:47.8 to finish 18th.
"The women are excited to go to regionals and make the commitment to get better every year," Centrowitz said. "Lilley made a dramatic improvement over last year and so did Cathleen."
Next up for the Eagles is the Cavalier Open at Charlottesville, Va. on Saturday. The team then heads to the Mid-Atlantic Regionals in Lockhaven, Pa. on November 11.
