BETH PAGE, N.Y. - - Needing to be one of the top two individual finishers not on an advancing team to move on to the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship, Wilmington University senior Mark Corrigan placed third overall at the NCAA DII East Regional Championship on Saturday at Beth Page State Page.
Corrigan led the men to a sixth place finish in the NCAA DII East Regional Championship, finishing third overall, good enough to earn a bid to the NCAA National Championship in Pittsburgh. Corrigan needed to be one of two runners not on an advancing team to earn a bid to Nationals or in the Top 5 overall; he was the top runner not on an advancing team on Saturday.
The women finished 16th overall on Saturday, led by graduate student Gabby Brown's 60th place finish in the 6K event.
Corrigan was neck and neck with Le Moyne's Chris Davitt, but edged him out for third place in the 10K event in a time of 32:42.20, just 1.50 seconds ahead of the Dolphin. American International's Leakey Kipkosgei won the Regional Championship with a time of 31:11.50 while Stonehill's Lucas Taxter placed second overall in 31:15.30. Both American International and Stonehill advanced to Nationals as a team with Stonehill winning the Regional race and AIC finishing second.
Freshman Brandon Cruz was the second Wildcat finisher on the men's side, running in 34:27.00, finishing in 42nd overall. Garrett Checchi and Miguel Suero was back-to-back in 45th and 46th, crossing the line in 34:39.60 and 34:40.70, respectively. Johnathan Avila closed out he Wildcat scoring with a 79th place finish, earning 75 points for the Wildcats with a time of 35:52.50. The Wildcats placed sixth overall with 211 points.
James Kennedy finished 81st overall with a time of 35:55.10 while Sean Scandle rounded out the Wildcats scoring with a 101st place finish, crossing the line in 36:50.70.
Stonehill won the men's race with 52 points while American International finished second with 63 points.
Gabby Brown led the Lady Wildcats to a 16th place finish at the East Regional Championship, running the 6K meet in 24:52.50. Freshman Rosemary Gillam was steps behind Brown in 64th place, crossing the line in 25:00.50. Alexa Crowell was the third Wildcat finisher on Saturday, finishing in 84th overall in a time of 25:32.60.
Freshman Grace Slate was the fourth Wildcat scorer in 94th place, finishing in 25:39.00 while sophomore Julia Merritt rounded out the Wildcat scoring in 119th place with a time of 26:35.20.
Allyson Kelly finished 127th overall with a time of 26:53.90 while Emily Kockott rounded out the Wildcats on the course with a 148th place finish in 27:57.80.
Stonehill won the Regional Championship with 58 points while Roberts Wesleyan finished second with 63 points. Merrimack finished third overall with 111 points.
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opponent and Post University runner Kendall Fitzgerald won the Regional Championship on Saturday, running the course in 22:10.90
The NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship is scheduled for December 1, 2018 at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
