NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona College men’s cross country team extended its dominance of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to a quarter century, winning its 25th straight MAAC title Saturday afternoon at Rosedale Park. The Gaels swept the title with a perfect score of 15 for the third straight year as the first seven and 11 of the first 12 runners to cross the line wore Maroon & Gold. The win also extended NCAA Division I’s longest active conference championship streak.
Graduate student Michael O’Dowd – running in his final MAAC Cross Country Championship event in his five years in Maroon & Gold – crossed the line first. He was the first of seven Gaels to finish within a second and a half of each other in 23:44.3. Sophomores Brandon Allen and Chartt Miller were second (23:44.4) and third (23:44.5), junior Kieran Clements was fourth (23:44.6) while sophomore Johannes Motschman rounded out the Gael scorers in fifth (23:44.7). Sophomores Gilbert Kirui (23:44.9) and Liam Dee (23:45.8) came in sixth and seventh before Canisius’ Chad Maloy broke up the Iona party in eighth place. Junior Xavier King (23:59.9), senior Otis Ubriaco (24:17.8) and sophomores Brandon Clark (24:21.8) and Andrew Tario (24:21.8) followed in ninth thru 12th place.
O’Dowd became the 14th straight Gael to win the individual title and 20th all-time. An Iona student-athlete has won the race 30 times in the 35-year history of the race. It was the Gaels ninth perfect 15 during their current stretch of 25 straight championships. The Maroon & Gold swept the top five positions in 1992, 1995, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014.
Marist finished second with 93 points, with its top two scorers placing 14th and 16th at the event. It was the second largest margin of victory in MAAC Championship history after Iona’s 16 point performance was 80 better than Canisius in 1994.
The Gaels continue their championship season in two weeks at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at Franklin Park in Boston, MA. The No. 9 ranked Maroon & Gold look to earn their first regional championship since 2012.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship
Rosedale Park – Pennington, NJ
October 31, 2015 – 8k
Team Scores
|
Pl.) |
School |
Points |
|
1.) |
Iona |
15 |
|
2.) |
Marist |
93 |
|
3.) |
Canisius |
112 |
|
4.) |
Monmouth |
115 |
|
5.) |
Siena |
140 |
|
6.) |
Manhattan |
157 |
|
7.) |
Quinnipiac |
173 |
|
8.) |
Fairfield |
195 |
|
9.) |
Rider |
208 |
|
10.) |
Niagara |
278 |
|
11.) |
Saint Peter’s |
362 |
Iona Finishers
|
Pl.) |
Name |
Yr. |
Finish |
|
1.) |
Mike O’Dowd |
SR |
23:44.3 |
|
2.) |
Brandon Allen |
SO |
23:44.4 |
|
3.) |
Chartt Miller |
SO |
23:44.5 |
|
4.) |
Kieran Clements |
JR |
23:44.6 |
|
5.) |
Johannes Motschman |
SO |
23:44.7 |
|
6.) |
Gilbert Kirui |
SO |
23:44.9 |
|
7.) |
Liam Dee |
FR |
23:45.8 |
|
8.) |
Xavier King |
JR |
23:59.9 |
|
10.) |
Otis Ubriaco |
SR |
24:17.8 |
|
11.) |
Brandon Clark |
SO |
24:21.8 |
|
12.) |
Andrew Tario |
SO |
24:21.8 |
|
23.) |
Thomas McClellan |
JR |
24:43.7 |
|
36.) |
Ross Wightman |
JR |
25:00.1 |
|
38.) |
Alex Carter |
FR |
25:02.5 |
