Terriers Take Fourth at Princeton Invitational

Saturday, October 19

Princeton, NJ

All Day

Boston University

Princeton Invitational

Photo by: Tom Connelly

Terriers Take Fourth at Princeton Invitational

October 19, 2019 | Men's Cross Country

Results

PRINCETON, N.J. - Paced by redshirt junior Brett Davidson's seventh-place performance, the Boston University men's cross country team finished fourth at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday at the West Windsor Fields.

The Terriers collected 142 points, just behind third-place La Salle (133). Stony Brook (55) and UConn (120) were first and second, respectively. BU finished ahead of Penn (170), which was ranked third in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and Alabama, which entered the weekend seventh in the South Region; both those schools also received votes in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll.

"Coming in I felt like we could have been top three" head coach Paul Spangler said. "At the end of the day, they ran well but the other teams ran just a little bit better. The fact that we ran well gives us some confidence and motivation going into the conference championship."

Davidson turned in a personal-best 8K time of 24:02.9, over five seconds faster than his previous career best at that distance. Senior Paul Luevano was not far behind Davidson, as the former Patriot League champion crossed the finish line in 11th with a time of 24:14.4.

"I thought Brett and Paul did a good job," Spangler said. "They responded well to the moves put in by the runners at the front."

Senior Greg Pelose was 36th with a time of 24:53.7, just shy of matching his previous career 8K best. Freshman Foster Malleck crushed his previous 8K best, finishing 44th with a time of 25:01.4. Sophomore and New Jersey native Joe Grandizio rounded out the Terrier scorers with an 8k PR of 25:10.7 to place 60th.

"It was good to see Joe come back and have his best race of the season on his home turf," Spangler said. "He struggled a bit as a freshman, but the talent has been there and it's good to see some consistency a sophomore."

Sophomore Marcel Aubry was right behind Grandizio in 62nd with a personal-best time of 25:11.9, followed by junior Jonathan Fierro (25:19.4) in 77th.

"I think Marcel and Foster continue to improve from Paul Short," Spangler said. "Marcel being more of a middle-distance guy, to have him step up to 8K and run 25:00 shows that he has good range and that will bode well when he gets to track season."

Freshman Kevin Murphy crossed the finish line in 91st with a PR of 25:25.8. Classmate Mike Hagan eclipsed his previous 8K best by 27 seconds with a time of 25:44.6. Sophomore Diego De La Torre (25:48.5) competed, as did freshmen Rylan Pettit (25:51.0), Daniel Skahill (26:22.8) and Charlie Hammel (26:41.1); Pettit's time was a new PR.

"We try not to focus too hard on PRs in cross country since all the courses are different, but anytime you walk away from a race with a PR is a good feeling for the athlete," Spangler said. "I know the guys were pretty excited to do well here, especially after racing at a lightning-fast Paul Short."

BU will now turn its attention to the Patriot League Championship, which will take place on Nov. 2 at Colgate. The Terriers raced there on Sept. 7 at the Harry Lang Invitational. Luevano won the race to lead BU to a third-place showing as a team.