Villanova University

Oct. 16, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 24 men's cross country squad finished third at the Panorama Farms Invitational hosted by the University of Virginia on a chilly Friday afternoon.

The Wildcats ran a respectable race on a challenging and very hilly course at Panorama Farms finishing behind Virginia and Syracuse, who are ranked No. 14 and No. 11 respectively, but stayed in front of No. 26 Duke who came in fourth as a team.

"We ran a very respectable race today," said head coach Marcus O'Sullivan. "Not everything was going our way and an off day from our top runner, Hugo, put us behind Syracuse, but we did what we had to do and we stayed in front of Duke and hold our position. Overall it was a good race for us on a challenging course."

Sophomore Mathew Mildenhall had an excellent run to lead the Wildcats and finish second overall in 23:36. Senior Dan Lewis also ran a good race, coming from behind and finished sixth in 23:48.

Senior Bobby Papazian clocked in at 24:08 to finish 15th, while junior Matthew Gibney was 21st in 24:21. Junior Hugo Beamish crossed the finish line in 24:31 for 28th, while sophomore Matt Kane was right behind him in 24:36 for 29th place.

Junior Carl Mackenzie clocked in at 24:39 and was 32nd with sophomore Joe LoRusso earning 40th place in 24:39. Cody Harper finished the course in 25:44.

The Wildcats have a JV meet at Haverford College scheduled on Oct. 23, but will look towards the BIG EAST Championships on Oct. 31 in Kenosha, Wis.