RIVERDALE, NY - The Iona University men's cross country team had four individual harriers cross in the top 30 in a fifth-place team finish at the 2022 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at Van Cortlandt Park. Sophomore Lachlan Wellington was Iona's top finisher in ninth place.

THE RUNDOWN

The Gaels competed for a top spot in the event to the end, climbing back from ninth place at the 1.2k split all the way to second place with 3.7k to go.  The hotly contested 3-5 slots were separated by just two points.

IONA COMPETITORS

Wellington completed the 10k race with a time of 29:41.7. Classmate Damien Dilcher finished 13th in 29:46.1. Junior Jonathan DeSouza was 22nd overall with a time of 30:01.7 while junior Mael Gouyette came in 26th (30:05.0). Iona's fifth scorer was senior Jamie Dee (67th, 31:06.4). Juniors Campbell Lee (74th, 31:12.8) and Joshua DeSouza (103rd, 31:45.0) also competed in the event.

TEAM STANDINGS

Syracuse took home the team title with 65 points. Harvard captured the region's second automatic bid into the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma next weekend, posting 89 team points. Cornell and Providence finished tied for third with 135 and were followed closely by the Gaels with 137 points. Stony Brook (164), UMass Lowell (202), Northeastern (225), Yale (227) and Dartmouth (235) rounded out the Top 10 teams.

INDIVIDUAL COMPETITORS

Individually, Harvard's Graham Blanks was the overall winner (29:14.1) followed more than five seconds later by teammate Acer Iverson.

UP NEXT

While Iona will not likely receive a team bid to the NCAA Championship, at least two Gaels could compete in the event hosted by Oklahoma State on November 19.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona University athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates).
Iona Cross Country/Track: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

IONA COMPETITORS

Pl.)	NAME	YEAR	TIME
9.)	Lachlan Wellington	So.	29:41.7
13.)	Damien Dilcher	So.	29:46.1
22.)	Jonathan DeSouza	Jr.	30:01.7
26.)	Mael Gouyette	Jr.	30:05.0
67.)	Jamie Dee	Sr.	31:06.4
74.)	Campbell Lee	Jr.	31:12.8
103.)	Joshua DeSouza	Jr.	31:45.0

TEAM SCORES

PLACE	TEAM	POINTS
1.)	Syracuse	65
2.)	Harvard	89
3.)	Cornell	135
4.)	Providence	135
5.)	Iona	137
6.)	Stony Brook	164
7.)	UMass Lowell	202
8.)	Northeastern	225
9.)	Yale	227
10.)	Dartmouth	235
11.)	Columbia	275
12.)	Army West Point	335
13.)	Buffalo	407
14.)	Boston University	425
15.)	Siena	460
16.)	Binghamton	471
17.)	UMass Amherst	540
18.)	Maine	567
19.)	Fordham	571
20.)	Rhode Island	591
21.)	Marist	597
22.)	Canisius	601
23.)	Vermont	642
24.)	New Hampshire	680
25.)	Bryant	700
26.)	Wagner	729
27.)	Hofstra	758
28.)	Brown	763
29.)	LIU	783
30.)	Central Connecticut	806
31.)	Holy Cross	834
32.)	Quinnipiac	970
33.)	Fairfield	1,004