The William & Mary men's cross country team cruised to an easy win on a soggy Saturday in Richmond, winning the Spider Alumni Open with five athletes in the top seven. The Tribe scored 20 points to fly by the five-team field, including second-place Davidson (43), Richmond (90), George Mason (99), and VCU (123). Individually, Davidson's Will Brewster took top honors on the 5K course at Pole Green Park, crossing the finish in 15:07.1.
"I thought the team did a really good job," said head men's cross country coach
Chris Solinsky after the meet. "We're in the middle of a heavy training phase, so to run as well as they did bodes well for the season to come. I think we're just scratching the surface of what we're capable of."
Fitting for the shorter distance of the rust-buster, the Tribe's top three were all mile-specialists. Sophomore
Ryan McGorty (Fairfax, Va.) finished second overall in 15:09.6, and redshirt-junior
David Barney (Lynchburg, Va.) came across in 15:14.2 for third overall. Junior
Dawson Connell (Yorktown, Va.) was fourth in 15:17.9. Seniors
Trevor Sleight (Asheville, N.C.) and
Faris Sakallah (Chantilly, Va.) ran sixth and seventh, respectively, in 15:22.9 and 15:26.9 to finish the scoring line-up. Rounding out the varsity seven were juniors
Chris Hoyle (Oak Hill, Va.) and
Cavender Salvadori (Wilmington, Del.), finishing a step apart in 14th and 15th in 15:38.5 and 15:38.7.
William & Mary will be back in action in two weeks, hosting the 58th annual W&M Cross Country Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16-17. The college races will go off at Eastern State on Friday night starting at 6 p.m., while Saturday is devoted to the high school races starting at 8:30 a.m.
Richmond Spider Alumni Open - 5K
Pole Green Park
Team Scores
1. William & Mary 20
2. Davidson 43
3. Richmond 90
4. George Mason 99
5. VCU 123
Top Five Finishers
1. Will Brewster (DAV) 15:07.1
2. Ryan McGorty (W&M) 15:09.6
3. David Barney (W&M) 15:14.2
4. Dawson Connell (W&M) 15:17.9
5.
JP Trojan (UNAT) 15:19.7
Other W&M Finishers
6.
Trevor Sleight 15:22.9
7.
Faris Sakallah 15:26.9
14.
Chris Hoyle 15:38.5
15.
Cavender Salvadori 15:38.7
17.
AJ Tucker 15:42.2
20.
Andrew Cacciatore 15:49.4
33.
Thomas Vinci 16:10.2
37.
Ryan Thompson 16:17.9
38.
Matt Heinicke-Peart 16:18.9
