St. Mary’s Fares Well at Hood Open
Walkersville, Md. - In previewing the November 7 Capital Athletic Conference championship course on a soggy Saturday morning, freshman Dan Swain (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) and the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's cross country team demonstrated they will be a force to contend with as the Seahawk harriers claimed a fourth-place finish at the Third Annual Hood College Open.
Swain was the first Capital Athletic Conference runner to cross the finish line as he came in second out of 123 runners in 28:07.47, just under three seconds off the winning pace. This is the second time that Swain has finished second at a meet as he took second at the York (Pa.) College Invitational I on September 19.
Freshman Ryan Scott of Washington & Jefferson College captured the Third Annual Hood Open in 28:04.80, while York (Pa.) took the team title with 45 points and three top 10 finishes.
The Seahawks averaged 30:13.30 in finishing fourth out of 14 teams behind the top five finishes of Swain and freshman Nick Pasko (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall). Pasko claimed a third-place finish on the heels of Scott and Swain with his time of 28:14.80.
Freshman Quint Frauman (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) was a top 30 finisher for St. Mary's as Frauman placed 23rd in 29:32.02.
While York won the team title, St. Mary's bested fellow conference members, fifth-place Hood and last place Wesley College.
The Seahawks will be off for the next two weeks before returning to action Saturday, November 7 at the CAC Championships hosted by Hood College at Heritage Farm Park in Walkersville, Md. The race will begin at 11:00 am.
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 (123 runners): 2. Dan Swain, 3. Nick Pasko, 23. Quint Frauman, 45. Alexander Gardullo (30:51.94), 85. Chris Fearey (34:20.25), 94. Henry Giovannetti (35:52.41), 101. Bryson Shibe (36:23.04), 103. Drew Gordon (36:46.61)
8K Men's Team Standings: 1. York (Pa.) (45), 2. Shenandoah (76), 3. Washington & Jefferson (91), 4. St. Mary's (Md.) (119), 5. Penn State Altoona (139), 5. Hood (139), 7. Catholic (167), 8. Howard CC (177), 9. Alvernia (260), 10. Prince George's CC (270), 11. Pittsburgh-Greensburg (309), 12. Harford CC (317), 13. Mount Aloysius (336), 14. Wesley (383)
