Iona Men's Cross Country Moves Up To No. 3 Nationally
MAAC Sports
Metairie, LA - The Iona College men's cross country team matched its highest ranking ever in the USTFCCCA Division I poll at No. 3 this week after an impressive first place finish at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Gaels jumped ahead of Arkansas and Stanford in this week's rankings, and stand just five points behind No. 2 Colorado.
The Gaels were led in victory by their top three runners finishing in the top 11 of the race. Junior Abraham Ng'etich finished eighth and was followed closely by teammates Mohamed Khadraoui (ninth) and Harbert Okuti (11th) to earn a first place finish in the 36 team field. The Gaels finished ahead of No. 5 Stanford, No. 10 Florida and No. 12 Notre Dame to round out the top 4.
Also for his efforts, Ng'etich was named MAAC Cross Country Runner of the Week. It was his MAAC-high third honor of the season after finishing the 8K race with a time of 23:41.9.
Iona was last ranked No. 3 on Sept. 28, 2004 following a victory at the Meet of Champions that season. The team went on to finish seventh at the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
The Gaels tune up in a tri-meet with Manhattan and Marist this afternoon before attempting to defend their MAAC Championship for the 15th straight season next Friday (Oct. 27). Both events are held at the Gaels' home course, Van Cortlandt Park.