Ravens finish third among Division II competition

BOSTON (October 10, 2015) – After taking the last two weeks off so head coach Zach Emerson could work with his team away from the course, the Franklin Pierce University men's cross country team was back at it on Saturday at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championship, held at Franklin Park. The Ravens utilized a trio of top-50 finishes in the 252-runner field to place 17th out of 38 teams.

Senior Colton Ham (Webster, N.H.) led Franklin Pierce on Saturday, with an 8k time of 25:14.71 to place 20th. The other Ravens to finish in the top-50 were junior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.), who ran a 25:33.20 to place 44th, and junior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda), who clocked in at 25:35.94 to finish 50th.

After the leading trio, it was more than 100 spots back to the rest of Franklin Pierce's scoring five at Franklin Park, as freshman Christopher Lord (North Andover, Mass.) placed 165th with a time of 26:46.82 and freshman Peter Saviano (Sandown, N.H.) finished 189th in a time of 27:05.21. Also competing for the Ravens on Saturday were junior Dylan Crowley (Woburn, Mass.) in 199th (27:19.02) and junior Jon Holmes (Albany, N.Y.) in 209th (27:42.20).

It all added up to 454 points and a 17th-place finish for Franklin Pierce, which finished 14th (of 39 teams) at the event a year ago. Meanwhile, at the top of Saturday's standings, Boston University collected 143 points to post a 33-point victory over second-place Amherst College (176 points). University of Maine (199), Dartmouth (207) and University of Massachusetts Amherst (211) rounded out the top five, in that order.

Individually, Massachusetts Lowell senior Robert Allen claimed the New England crown, with a time of 24:23.62. He finished nearly six seconds in front of second place, which went to Amherst College sophomore Mohamed Hussein (24:29.01). Boston University senior Kevin Thomas (24:34.24) took third.

The Ravens return to action on Friday, Oct. 16, when they host the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup at Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H. The meet will serve as a preview meet for the NCAA Championship East Regional, which Franklin Pierce will host at the same site on Nov. 8.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). 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' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).