Men's Cross Country Wins Northeast Conference Championship

The Central Connecticut State University men's cross country team placed three runners in the top 10 and won its first Northeast Conference Championship at Quinnipiac University on Saturday morning. Sophomore Sam Alexander led the way for the Blue Devils, placing fourth overall in a time of 26:23.9 on the five mile course in Hamden, CT. Sophomore Jeremy Schmid and freshman Craig Hunt took sixth and seventh place, crossing the line in 26:38.6 and 26:39.5, respectively.

CCSU finished with an overall team score of 46 points, beating all NEC challengers by 36 points or more. The host Bobcats placed second with a team score of 82, while St. Francis (PA) took third, tallying 97 points. Sacred Heart and Wagner rounded out the top five with scores of 98 and 154, respectively.

Alexander, Schmid and Hunt, along with freshman Mohamed Hrezi all received all-conference honors for their performances on Saturday. Hrezi placed 13th, recording a time of 26:59.9. Freshman John Krell rounded out the Blue Devil scorers in the meet, taking 16th place in 27:15.6.

Junior Robert Weston (27:37.3, 27th), freshman Josh Trares (27:40.8, 30th), Dan Watson (27:45.8, 35th) and Kevin Tiernan (27:55.6, 40th) were the rest of the Blue Devils in competition at the meet of 100 runners.

Long Island's freshman Rogers Kipruto won the overall individual championship with a time of 25:55.9.

Blue Devil head coach Eric Blake earned NEC Coach of the Year honors as voted on by his peers.

CCSU will next compete at the NCAA Northeast Regionals in Boston, MA on Saturday November 14.