HOPKINTON, N.H. (October 20, 2018) – Freshman phenom Riley Fenoff (Danville, Vt.) claimed his first collegiate cross country title on Saturday, as the Franklin Pierce University men's cross country team hosted the sixth annual Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup, at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds. Fenoff paced a field of 106 runners, to lead the Ravens to a sixth-place finish, out of 11 teams.

Returning to competition after a pair of open weekends, Fenoff got back at it in style on Saturday. He clocked in at 25:17.8 for the 8k course. The time was good for a win of nearly eight seconds over Southern Connecticut State freshman Christopher Lebeau, who finished second (25:25.5). Fenoff became the first Raven to win the team's annual home meet and turned in the second-fastest time posted at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds' 8k course since Franklin Pierce began hosting meets at the location.

"Riley's performance came against some of the best runners in the entire East Region," said head coach Zach Emerson after the meet. "He made his intentions known, that he will be a contender as an individual to make a trip to NCAAs come November."

Fenoff was one of four Ravens in the top half of the field, but it was also 30 spots back to the next Franklin Pierce finisher. Sophomore Cody Tallent (Bellows Falls, Vt.) finished 31^st for the injury-hampered Ravens, while junior Anthony Pizzo (Peabody, Mass.) followed in 44^th and freshman Will Aylward (Peabody, Mass.) placed 47^th. Tallent posted a time of 26:50.1, while Pizzo ran a 27:13.1 and Aylward crossed the line in 27:20.2.

Senior Anthony Barinelli (Tewksbury, Mass.) rounded out Franklin Pierce's scoring five in 66^th place, with a time of 28:12.1.

Franklin Pierce finished with 170 points on the day, which was good for sixth place. Southern Connecticut State had the second, third and fourth finishers to run away with the team title, quite literally. The Owls (29 points) posted a 44-point victory over second-place Southern New Hampshire (73 points). The Penmen in turn fended off Merrimack, which finished third (79 points).

The Ravens have another open weekend next weekend, before hosting the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Sunday, Nov. 4, at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds.

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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).