Sam Alexander Wins Blue Devil Invitational

Sophomore Sam Alexander had to all out sprint the final 200 meters to edge out Holy Cross senior Timothy Richard for the 21st annual Blue Devil Invitational individual championship on Saturday. Alexander finished just a tenth of a second ahead of Richard, finishing the eight kilometer course at Stanley Quarter Park in a time of 26 minutes and 14.62 seconds. CCSU placed second in the team results, falling to Brown by one point, 44-45.

Alexander and Richard, along with CCSU teammates sophomore Jeremy Schmid and freshman Craig Hunt and Southern Connecticut's Joseph Poulsen were together at the front of the pack for most of the race. After the midway point of the race Schmid, Richard and Alexander escaped from the pack, pushing the pace. With about a mile to go, Alexander made his move, taking the lead as Schmid fell 10 meters behind the leaders. Alexander and Richard fought side by side the rest of the way, as both runners sprinted the final stretch before Alexander edged out the Holy Cross harrier by one tenth of a second.

Schmid finished third in a time of 26:23.31, while Poulsen and Hunt were fourth and fifth, recording times of 26:32.71 and 26:42.30, respectively. Next came a pack of four straight Brown runners, taking places six through nine to give the Bears the championship. Other Blue Devils in competition were junior Robert Weston and sophomores Kevin Tiernan and Dan Watson. Weston took 17th in a time of 27:27.85, while Tiernan and Watson finished back to back in 19th and 20th. Teirnan recorded a time of 27:40.56 and Watson finished in 27:41.15.

Brown won the meet with a score of 44. The Bears' top finisher was freshman Michael Stumpf in sixth place, timing in at 26:56.26. CCSU took second with 45 point, followed by Holy Cross with 57 and Southern Connecticut with 71.

The CCSU women were not in competition today. Brown won the women's championship.

Central will next compete at Quinnipiac on Saturday September 19.