Seahawks Finish Fourth at CAC Championships
Dan Swain
Walkersville, Md. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland men's cross country team fared well in its first-ever Capital Athletic Conference Championship meet hosted by Hood College at Heritage Farm Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Seahawks finished fourth in the team standings while University of Mary Washington captured the program's 11th men's team title, snapping defending champion, Salisbury University's, four-year hold. Senior Frank DeVar of Mary Washington nabbed his second consecutive individual title, crossing the finish line in 25:23.66, to be named CAC Runner of the Year for the second season in a row.
Mary Washington head coach Stan Soper picked up his 11th CAC Coach of the Year honor while freshman Stephen Berstler, Jr. of Salisbury University was the CAC Rookie of the Year after finishing the 8K race third in 27:13.96.
St. Mary's was paced in the race by freshman Dan Swain (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) who ran 27:52.60 for a 16th-place finish, missing all-conference honors by one spot.
The Seahawks averaged 31:07.62 in finishing fourth out of six teams behind a pair of top 20 finishes. Freshman Nick Pasko (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) was the next top finisher for SMCM, claiming a 21st-place finish in 28:08.11, while junior Alexander Gardullo (Lutherville-Timonium, Md./Loyola Blakefield) came in 55th in 30:46.96.
St. Mary's next stop will be the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regional hosted by Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C.
The addition of men's and women's cross country in the spring of 2009 brought St. Mary's athletic offerings to 17 sports.
Affiliated with NCAA Division III, St. Mary's became the ninth and final member institution of the Capital Athletic Conference to sponsor both men's and women's cross country. The Seahawks joined Gallaudet University, Hood College, the University of Mary Washington, Marymount (Va.) University, Salisbury University, Stevenson University, Wesley College, and York (Pa.) College.
8K Seahawk finishers (79 runners): 16. Dan Swain, 21. Nick Pasko, 55. Alexander Gardullo, 65. Chris Fearey (34:07.17), 66. Henry Giovannetti (34:43.23), 69. Bryson Shibe (35:29.22), 70. Drew Gordon (35:35.28)
8K Men's Team Standings: 1. Mary Washington (25), 2. Salisbury (38), 3. York (Pa.) (71), 4. St. Mary's (Md.) (122), 5. Hood (131), 6. Wesley (183)
