NEW BRITAIN, Connecticut – The Quinnipiac men's cross country team pushed through the field to place 11th out of 16 teams on Friday afternoon at the CCSU Mini Meet. In the shortened 5k course at Stanley Quarter Park close to the campus of CCSU, the Bobcats moved through the field well and now move on to the 2016 MAAC Championships next weekend.
Just one week prior to the conference championship meet, the top seven Bobcat runners were held out on the day to rest up for the title race. The opportunity allowed several other Bobcats the chance to shine on the day and leading the field was senior Kyle Liang (Norwich, Connecticut). Stepping up with a 44th place finish out of 117 runners, Liang was the fastest Bobcat for the first time in his career (21 career appearances). With a previous personal-best second place finish on the team, Liang moved-up considerably from his 72nd place result at the 2015 CCSU Mini Meet as he crossed the line in 15:54.27. Both the finish and time set new personal records for Liang who was making his third career appearance at the CCSU Mini Meet.
Freshman Matthew Allen (Ambler, Pennsylvania) also took the opportunity and made the most of it as he placed a season high second on the team with his 55th place result. His time of 16:01.44 in the 5k event provided depth right behind the pace set by Liang at the top of the field.
Racing in his first career CCSU Mini Meet, junior Sal Siciliano (Avon, Connecticut) showed very well as he placed 61st overall with a time of 16:05.72. Siciliano recorded his highest finish on the team in his three-year career with the result.
Rounding out the scoring on the day for the Bobcats included freshman Joseph Lazzaro (65th; 16:16.61), sophomore Ben Lanza (67th; 16:17.95) and Reed Kramer (83rd; 16:43.53). Lanza knocked three seconds off his time from last season which came in the CCSU Mini Meet sub-varsity event, as he was making his first varsity appearance at the event. From Left to Right: Dylan Fearon, Kaelan Hayes, Kyle Liang, Brendan Copley
Following the competition, directory of cross country and track and field Carolyn Martin honored the Bobcats' four-member senior class including graduate student Brendan Copley along with seniors Dylan Fearon, Kaelan Hayes and Kyle Liang (pictured above) for their accomplishments and dedication to the program over their careers.
Quinnipiac now heads into the MAAC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29 for the first time at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Florida. The Bobcats are coming off a seventh place finish at the 2015 MAAC Championships as the field will be looking to dethrone the 25-time defending MAAC Champions Iona.
