LOUISVILLE, KY - The No. 10 Iona College men's cross country team is set to take on E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park and the 2015 NCAA Championship Saturday afternoon. The Gaels are in search of their 13th Top 10 finish at the national championship in the last 14 seasons. The race is set for 12:05 pm.
Ranked as high as fifth during the 2015 campaign, the Maroon & Gold's regular season highlights include a first place finish at the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 3 and a fifth place performance at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. Junior Kieran Clements led the Gaels at Louisville in an 8k event held at the same venue as the NCAA Championship. Sophomore Chartt Miller was the top finisher in Madison.
The Gaels began their championship season with a 25th straight MAAC title, extending the nation's longest conference winning streak. Senior Michael O'Dowd led a pack of seven Iona harriers at the top of the leaderboard to earn a sweep of the event. Iona finished second at the 2015 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship in Boston, MA to earn an automatic bid into Saturday's race. All five scorers earned All-Region honors led by Clements' fourth place finish.
Clements, Miller and O'Dowd are joined in Louisville by junior Xavier King, sophomores Brandon Allen, Gilbert Kirui and Johannes Motschmann and freshman Liam Dee. Seven of the eight harriers will represent the Gaels as look to continue their unprecedented success at the national level.
It is the Gaels' 21st appearance since 1982 at the NCAA Championship, their 14th straight and 18th in the last 19 years. Iona top performance in the meet was back-to-back second place finishes in 2007 and 2008. Last season, Iona earned an eighth place finish in Terre Haute. The last time the event was held in Louisville, the Maroon & Gold finished 29th.
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