MONTGOMERY, NY - The No. 28 Iona University men's cross country team earned its 34th straight Metro Atlantic Conference Championship with a perfect score of 15 Saturday afternoon at Twin Ponds on the FARM in Orange County, New York. The first six runners to cross the line and 10 of the first 12 finishers donned the Gaels' gold singlet while an 11th runner earned All-MAAC honors by finishing in the top 15. Senior Lachlan Wellington earned the individual title, crossing within .4 seconds of his teammates, junior Matt Rankin, and sophomore Aiden Coles. The 34 consecutive conference championship winning streak extended the longest in the NCAA in any sport.

RACE SUMMARY

Wellington's time of 23:57.4 set a new course record at Twin Ponds. Both Rankin (23:57.6) and Coles (23:57.6) also ran sub 24-minute times for the Gaels. Sophomore Tristan Coles (24:05.6) and junior Tadhg Donnelly (24:10.5) crossed next to complete the Maroon & Gold sweep. After senior Nick Soldevere (24:10.6) crossed the line sixth, Rider's Noah Taylor and Niagara's Braden York split Iona's run in seventh and eighth place. Four Maroon & Gold performers followed including freshman Bradley Giblin (24:17.5), sophomore Scott Fagan (24:20.2) and juniors Thomas Crockett (24:29.9) and Max Mahon (24:34.0). Sophomore Peter Fogarty was Iona's 11th All-MAAC honoree, finishing in 15th place in 24:43.4.

TOP HONORS

The Iona men swept the top individual honors. Wellington earned MAAC Most Outstanding Runner honors for his first place finish. Giblin was the MAAC Rookie of the Year as the meet's top freshman finisher. Finally, Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Joe Pienta was named MAAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year. Wellington became Iona's 24th consecutive individual champion dating back to 2002. Giblin followed teammates Aiden Coles (2023), Donnelly (2022), Rankin (2021) and Joshua DeSouza (2020-21) as the top MAAC newcomer.

TEAM RESULTS

Rider finished second to the Gaels with 73 points. Siena (83) was third and was followed by MAAC newcomer Merrimack (129) and Canisius (151) in the top five. Iona's perfect score of 15 marked the 14th time in history it accomplished the feat and 13th time during the current 34 straight team wins and the 12th time this century. It was the first time since March 5, 2021.

IONA INDIVIDUALS

Pl.	Name	Year	Time
1.)	Lachlan Wellington	SR	23:57.4
2.)	Matt Rankin	JR	23:57.6
3.)	Aiden Coles	SO	23:57.8
4.)	Tristan Coles	SO	24:05.6
5.)	Tadhg Donnelly	JR	24:10.5
6.)	Nick Soldevere	SR	24:10.6
9.)	Bradley Giblin	FR	24:17.5
10.)	Scott Fagan	SO	24:20.2
11.)	Thomas Crockett	JR	24:29.9
12.)	Max Mahon	JR	24:34.0
15.)	Peter Fogarty	FR	24:43.4
26.)	Andrew Fogarty	SO	25:17.5
60.)	Christian Audrin	SO	26:01.6
68.)	Caleb Deane	JR	26:10.6
105.)	Jack Novelli	FR	26:51.6
112.)	Jack O'Keefe	SO	27:03.8
123.)	Hunter Wilson	SO	27:13.3
136.)	Caudell Cajuste	FR	27:44.4
167.)	Tommy Bromley	FR	29:48.2

ALL-MAAC FINISHERS

Pl.	Name	Team	Year	Time
1.)	Lachlan Wellington	Iona	SR	23:57.4
2.)	Matt Rankin	Iona	JR	23:57.6
3.)	Aiden Coles	Iona	SO	23:57.8
4.)	Tristan Coles	Iona	SO	24:05.6
5.)	Tadhg Donnelly	Iona	JR	24:10.5
6.)	Nick Soldevere	Iona	SR	24:10.6
7.)	Noah Taylor	Rider	SR	24:14.2
8.)	Braden York	Niagara	SR	24:14.7
9.)	Bradley Giblin	Iona	FR	24:17.5
10.)	Scott Fagan	Iona	SO	24:20.2
11.)	Thomas Crockett	Iona	JR	24:29.9
12.)	Max Mahon	Iona	JR	24:34.0
13.)	Tamrat Snyder	Rider	SR	24:37.3
14.)	Killian McNamee	Siena	SR	24:39.3
15.)	Peter Fogarty	Iona	FR	24:43.4

TEAM SCORES

Pl.	Team	Score
1.)	#28 Iona	15
2.)	Rider	73
3.)	Siena	83
4.)	Merrimack	129
5.)	Canisius	151
5.)	Marist	151
7.)	Mount St. Mary's	233
8.)	Fairfield	243
9.)	Manhattan	270
10.)	Niagara	282
11.)	Quinnipiac	302
12.)	Sacred Heart	312
13.)	Saint Peter's	428
1.)	Quinnipiac	31

SOCIAL MEDIA

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