LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - The Iona College men's cross country program continued its dominance of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, capturing its 31st straight MAAC title this morning at ESPN's Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World. With team 17 points, the Gaels saw nine of the first 10 runners cross the line and extended the longest NCAA Division I conference championship streak in the country.
RACE SUMMARY
Junior
Jamie Dee took the individual crown, finishing the 8k event in 24:36.9. His teammates, sophomore
Joshua DeSouza and senior
Ehab El-Sandali, both crossed just one-tenth of a second behind him. In true, dominant Gael fashion, the Iona trio up front led wire-to-wire and finished seven seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher, Siena's Brandon Olden, the lone finisher not donning Maroon & Gold in the top 10.
Sophomore
Jonathan DeSouza (24:47.4), freshman
Matthew Rankin (24:48.7), sophomore
Campbell Lee (25:02.1), junior
Graham Baird (25:03.3), freshman
Nick Soldevere (25:11.0) and sophomore
Colin Logsdon (25:14.9) rounded out positions five through 10.
THAT'S OUTSTANDING
Dee earned Most Outstanding Performer accolades, joining the club with teammates El-Sandali (2019) and
Jack O'Leary (2020-21) as current Gaels to win the honor. His brother Jamie was the top finisher in 2018, and the duo became the first pair of siblings to earn the individual MAAC crown.
Joining Iona's top nine finishers on the All-MAAC team was sophomore
Donnovan Tucker, who finished 14th overall.
COACH OF THE YEAR REDUX
Iona Director of Cross Country/Track & Field
Joe Pienta repeated as MAAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
TEAM RESULTS
Despite missing a perfect 15 score for just the second time in the last nine races, earned a comfortable 61-point win over second place Monmouth (78 points). Siena (89) was third and followed by Manhattan (109) and Rider (128) in the top five.
IONA INDIVIDUALS
TOP 10 FINISHERS
TEAM FINISHES
| Pl. |
Team |
Score |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 1. |
Iona |
17 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| 2. |
Monmouth |
78 |
10 |
12 |
15 |
18 |
23 |
25 |
29 |
| 3. |
Siena |
89 |
4 |
16 |
17 |
24 |
28 |
32 |
37 |
| 4. |
Manhattan |
109 |
13 |
14 |
21 |
27 |
34 |
46 |
54 |
| 5. |
Rider |
128 |
19 |
22 |
26 |
30 |
31 |
35 |
38 |
| 6. |
Canisius |
149 |
9 |
11 |
36 |
43 |
50 |
56 |
57 |
| 7. |
Marist |
181 |
20 |
33 |
39 |
44 |
45 |
49 |
52 |
| 8. |
Quinnipiac |
227 |
40 |
41 |
47 |
48 |
51 |
53 |
58 |
| 9. |
Fairfield |
279 |
42 |
55 |
59 |
61 |
62 |
66 |
68 |
| 10. |
Niagara |
333 |
60 |
63 |
64 |
72 |
74 |
|
|
| 11. |
St. Peter's |
342 |
65 |
67 |
69 |
70 |
71 |
73 |
75 |
UP NEXT
Iona's championship season continues in 11 days when the program tackles the 2021 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at Franklin Park in Boston, MA
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