Men’s Cross Country Wins Metropolitan Championships

Friday, October 13

Bronx, NY

2 PM

Rutgers University

Metropolitan Championships

Men’s Cross Country Wins Metropolitan Championships

Oct 13 | Men's Cross Country

Results

Four Scarlet Knights place in Top 10 at 8K in Van Cortlandt Park

BRONX, N.Y. (Oct. 13, 2017) – Rutgers men's cross country won the 2017 Metropolitan Championships by placing all five point-scoring runners in the Top 11 of the 8,000-meter run on Friday afternoon at the iconic Van Cortlandt Park.

The Scarlet Knights outpaced a field of 11 programs, including defending champion Manhattan, with a total of 39 points on the strength of a 5-6-8-9-11 finish. Manhattan was second with 54, followed by 67 from Fordham, who had the top two individual finishers in Thomas Slattery and Ryan Kutch.

"The guys ran great today," said head coach Mike Mulqueen, who coached Rutgers' last Metropolitan Championships team in 1986. "We had a plan, and they followed it perfectly. They ran smart and tough, it was a total team effort, and I am very proud of them."

For the third time this season, and second time at Van Cortlandt Park, sophomore Cole Pschunder crossed the finish line first for the Scarlet Knights. Pitted against a field of 111 runners, his fifth place finish of 26:01.8 was just 2.1 seconds in front of senior teammate Luke Wiley as the duo set the tone with back-to-back fast finishes en route to the championship win.

Juniors Conor Murphy (26:11.8) and Dom Munson (26:12.2) finished at virtually the same time in eighth and ninth place, respectively, to place four Scarlet Knights in the Top 10. Rutgers kept the score low with an 11^th place finish from senior Trent Brinkofski in 26:21.5.

In preparation for conference and regional championships, where seven runners score, Rutgers kept up the momentum with high finishes from freshmen Patrick Walsh (12^th – 26:27.2) and Billy Hill (15^th – 26:44.1).

KNIGHT NOTES

This marks Rutgers' first Metropolitan Championship since 1986.
RU's second place finish at Mets last season was their highest since a runner-up placing in 2009.
The Rutgers point-scoring harriers finished within 19.7 seconds of each other.
Four point scorers dropped their times at Van Cortlandt Park from the Fordham Fiasco meet on Sept. 9. Pschunder dropped 17.3 seconds, Murphy lost 39.6 seconds, Munson improved by 33.8 seconds and Brinkofski crushed his previous VCP time by 1:45.

Up Next: The Scarlet Knights taper and prepare for the 2017 championship season, beginning with the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, Oct. 29 at Indiana's Championship Cross Country Course.

Team Results (Points)
1. RUTGERS (39)
2. MANHATTAN (53)
3. FORDHAM (67)
4. MARIST (140)
5. SETON HALL (147)
6. COLUMBIA (174)
7. NJIT (176)
8. NYU (208)
9. NY TECH (267)
10. LIU POST (316)
11. ST. FRANCIS (N.Y.) (333)

Rutgers Results
5. Cole Pschunder - 26:01.8
6. Luke Wiley - 26:03.9
8. Conor Murphy - 26:11.8
9. Dom Munson - 26:12.2
11. Trent Brinkofski - 26:21.5
12. Patrick Walsh - 26:27.2
15. Billy Hill - 26:44.1
33. Alexander Livernois - 27:32.3
42. Tom Holster - 27:50.5
43. Andrew Comito – 27:54.4
78. Ryan Gross – 29:37.9

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's cross country, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgers_MensTF). The team is also on Facebook (facebook.com/ RutgersMensTF/).

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