TERRE HAUTE, IN — The Iona College men’s cross country team finished eighth at the 2014 NCAA Championship, earning its 11th Top 10 finish in the last 12 years. Senior Jake Byrne led the Gaels’ five scorers who finished within 15 seconds and 25 places of each other.
Byrne finished 49th overall with his time of 31:04.2. Freshman Gilbert Kirui and junior Michael O’Dowd finished back to back in 61st and 62nd place. Kirui was four-tenths of a second ahead of O’Dowd with his time of 31:11.9. Senior Andrew Kowalsky came in 74th place (31:19.1) while red shirt freshman Chartt Miller was seven-tenths of a second behind Kowalski in 76th place.
Colorado repeated as team champion with 65 points. Stanford, Portland, Northern Arizona, Syracuse, Oregon and Villanova finished ahead of the Gaels. Oklahoma State and Wisconsin rounded out the Top 10.
It was the second straight Top 10 finish by the Maroon & Gold which earned 10 straight from 2002-2011, a feat only equaled by the University of Wisconsin.
