The American University men's cross country team completed a near-seamless win at Saturday's Navy Invitational, with AU runners capturing four of the five top places in the race. The women's team landed in fourth place for their event, led by junior Kate Lilley's seventh-place finish.
Senior Brenden Fennell of Pearl River, N.Y., piloted the men's team to their victory, finishing first overall in the men's race. Fennell held a 60-yard lead over his competitors for his first win of the season. AU graduate student Conor Lanz took second place with a finishing time of 25:00 minutes. Awit Yohannes finished fourth with a time of 25:10 and senior Dan Beardslee took fifth place with a time of 25:14. The men's team gave a stellar performance, with runners Steve Hallinan, Brian McCabe and Carlos Jamieson also finishing in the top 10.
Kate Lilley was the vanguard for the AU women's cross country team, finishing seventh with a time of 23:34. Sophomore Megan Mason took 14th place with a time of 24:07 and junior Cathleen Ford captured 19th place with a time of 24:29. Freshmen Mercedes Ball and Danielle Loughrey placed in the top 50 to help the women's team come in fourth overall in the event.
The runners braved ominous weather as heavy clouds lingered in the morning and contributed to the soggy conditions. None of this dampened the spirits of AU's cross country program, however, which is ranked among the top 30 Division I cross country teams nationwide. The men's team hopes to capture its fifth consecutive Patriot League title this season.
AU cross country coach Matt Centrowitz was unavailable for comment.
Both the men and women can revel in their success for the next couple of weeks as competition is on hold until the Bill Dillinger and George Mason Invitationals the weekend of Sept. 30.
