GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (November 19, 2022) -- For the second time in program history (2013), the Franklin Pierce University men's cross country team is on its way to the NCAA Championship.

This time, the Ravens will do so with the individual East Region champion in tow.

Junior Wondu Summa (Burlington, Vt.) put together a 10k time of 31:27 at Bethpage State Park, to best a 146-runner field by more than 10 seconds and become the first in program history to claim the regional crown. Summa's performance headed what was just a 65-point outing for Franklin Pierce at the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Adelphi, as the Ravens matched their program best with a second-place finish in the 21-team meet.

With the top three teams in each region advancing to the national championship race, the finish punched Franklin Pierce's ticket through to Seattle, and the NCAA Division II Championships Festival. The men's cross country team will be joined in the Emerald City by Franklin Pierce's No. 1 nationally-ranked men's soccer team, which clinched its spot in the final four with a 1-0 win over No. 6 Charleston (W.Va.) at home on Saturday. The two could be joined by Ravens women's soccer as well, which squares off with West Chester for a final four berth on Sunday at Saint Rose.

The NCAA Championship for cross country is set for Friday, Dec. 2, at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash. The men's race will be conducted at 1 p.m. (EST). Seattle Pacific will serve as the host institution.

To add to Saturday's excitement, all five of the Franklin Pierce point scorers finished in the top-25 runners, which meant the entire quintet earned All-Region accolades. First among them after Summa was junior Ryan Outerbridge (Paget, Bermuda), who claimed eighth for his 32:02 time. Graduate student Riley Fenoff (Danville, Vt.) was next, as he took 16^th for his 32:20 time. In 20^th was graduate student Sebastien Vicary (Ulceby, United Kingdom), with a time of 32:26. The final point scorer was junior Thomas Darrah (Thetford, Vt.) in 23^rd for his 32:47 time.

It all added up to just 65 points for the Ravens, who finished only 12 points off the pace of East Region champion Southern Connecticut State (53 points). Franklin Pierce was, in turn, 35 points clear of third-place Roberts Wesleyan (100 points), which edged American International (101 points) by just one point for the region's final automatic qualifying spot for the national championship.

Individually behind Summa, it was Southern New Hampshire senior Jacob Logan in second (31:41) and SCSU sophomore Jonathan Volpe in third place (31:49).

Also competing for Franklin Pierce, but outside of the scoring five for the team, were junior Ryan Walker (Seabrook, N.H.), who claimed 33^rd for a 33:23 performance, and freshman Declan Morgan (West Springfield, Mass.), who took 66^th for his 34:38 time.