BOSTON, MA - The Iona College men's cross country team placed third at the 2021 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at Franklin Park Friday afternoon. Senior Ehab El-Sandali paced the Gaels with the individual title topping all competitors in the 10k event with his time of 30:03.
 
El-Sandali topped Harvard freshman Graham Blanks by a second. The top two finishers were more than 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. Iona senior Edward Goddard made his season debut and earned a top 10 finish, placing seventh (30:22). Sophomore Campbell Lee was the third Gael finisher in 16th place (30:52) while sophomore Jonathan DeSouza (25th, 31:06) and junior Jamie Dee (28th, 31:14) rounded out the Gaels' scorers.
 
By virtue of their finishes, El-Sandali, Goddard, Lee, and DeSouza were All-Northeast Region.
 
Iona earned a team score of 77, finishing behind Syracuse (51) and Harvard (68). Providence (98) was fourth and Columbia (137) fifth. The Orange and the Crimson earned the automatic team berth into the NCAA Championship in Tallahassee, Florida on November 20. The Gaels will await Saturday's selection show to determine their team fate. El-Sandali and Goddard will represent the Maroon & Gold regardless as top 10 finishers.