Four All-Region Finishers Lead Men’s Cross Country to Fourth at NCAA East Regional
PHILADELPHIA (November 9, 2019) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's cross country team put together one of the strongest outings in program history on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Jefferson. The Ravens had four runners earn All-East Region honors by finishing in the top 25, which was somehow still not enough to earn the team an automatic bid to the national championship race later this month. Franklin Pierce collected only 97 points, which was good for a strong fourth-place finish, but was also 15 points behind Stonehill for the final automatic qualifying spot.
Having four runners earn All-Region honors -- and with all four placing in the top 20, to boot -- was an unprecedented feat in program history. Junior Hugo Arlabosse (Marseille, France) was the first Raven to cross the line. He took 11th for his 10k time of 32:17. He was followed shortly after by graduate student William Rawson (Atherton, England), who ran the course in 32:22 and took 15th. Sophomore Riley Fenoff (Danville, Vt.) took 18th for his 32:26 finish. Then senior Jason Reed (Foxborough, Mass.) crossed in 32:28 to finish 20th. Only 11 seconds separated these four Ravens. When the dust settled, the fifth through 30th positions in the meet were separated by just one minute.
Reed became the first athlete in program history to earn All-Region honors in three consecutive seasons. All four of Franklin Pierce's All-Region performers turned in times which will be among the top 12 times for the 10k distance in program history. This despite the Belmont Plateau course being one which head coach Zach Emerson has described as one of the most difficult runs in the entire East Region.
Junior Cody Tallent (Bellows Falls, Vt.) crossed the line at 33:10 to earn 33rd and round out Franklin Pierce's scoring five, as well as the team's 97 points.
It all added up to a day which left Emerson both obviously proud of the team's effort and still at a loss for words. "Sometimes [97 points] is good enough for second place, and I even thought we were actually going to win the thing with a mile to go, so it hurts," said Emerson after the meet. "But, the good news is we return six of seven next year from this team, and we will be one of the favorites to compete for the East Region title next fall."
Emerson added he estimated Arlabosse will have a 50-50 chance of advancing to the national championship meet as an at-large individual. He staked the team's chances at advancing on an at-large bid at 10%, at best.
Outside of the scoring five for Franklin Pierce, 66th place went to freshman Zach Aham (Nottingham, N.H.), who ran the course in 34:25. Finally for the Ravens was junior Antonio Rua (Burrillville, R.I.), whose 34:31 run landed him in 68th.
On the team front, Roberts Wesleyan claimed the East Region title with a 55-point performance. Joining the Redhawks with automatic berths to the national championship meet were American International in second place (65 points) and Stonehill in third (82 points). Behind the Ravens, Southern Connecticut State (117 points) rounded out the top five.
The Ravens, and Arlabosse in particular, will wait to find out if they have been selected to the NCAA Championship National Finals field. The NCAA will announce final selections on Monday.
For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce cross country apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).