Temple University Athletics
Saturday, September 3
Pittsburgh, Pa. (Duquesne University)
10:00 a.m.
Temple University
at
Duquesne Duals
Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Men's Cross Country Takes Second at Duquesne Duals
9.3.16 | Men's Cross Country
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Owls are off to a great start with a second-place finish at the Duquesne Duals on Saturday morning. Leading the Temple squad in eighth place was freshman Zach Seiger. In his first collegiate-level race, Seiger finished with a time of 26:38.1. Right behind Sieger was freshman Kevin Lapsansky in ninth place (26:49.1).
"Today was about a lot of our younger guys getting a chance to race over 8k for the first time," said head coach James Snyder. "You never know how that's going to go. The Duquesne course runs itself really well and gives us a good indication of where we are in terms of our fitness level. As a coach, I do not like to sugarcoat anything and did not want to start the season off with a short race. Our new guys have to get acclimated to running an 8k compared to the high school 5k."
Sophomore Ben Evans was Temple's third-best finisher. Evans, who placed 25th in last year's race, placed 11th in 26:50.6.
"I thought they did an okay job," Snyder stated. "For our guys to finish second was solid. It was what I expected for the first race. Duquesne was always a team we've had ahead of us. The rest of the guys did a really good job at packing up as they all finished within seconds of each other."
Among five teams, Temple finished second behind host Duquesne. The Owls, ranked 15th in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the USTFCCCA preseason rankings, finished ahead of Pittsburgh who was 14th in the regional rankings.
"Next week at the Big 5 Invitational we'll have a much clearer picture of where we are," said Snyder.
Temple will host the annual Big 5 Invitational on Sept. 9 at Belmont Plateau.
Temple Results
8 Zach Seiger, 26:38.1
9 Kevin Lapsansky, 26:49.1
11 Ben Evans, 26:50.6
17 Tyji Mays, 27:19.9
18 Justin Yurchak, 27:23.4
19 Donovan Mears, 27:25.4
Full Results
"Today was about a lot of our younger guys getting a chance to race over 8k for the first time," said head coach James Snyder. "You never know how that's going to go. The Duquesne course runs itself really well and gives us a good indication of where we are in terms of our fitness level. As a coach, I do not like to sugarcoat anything and did not want to start the season off with a short race. Our new guys have to get acclimated to running an 8k compared to the high school 5k."
Sophomore Ben Evans was Temple's third-best finisher. Evans, who placed 25th in last year's race, placed 11th in 26:50.6.
"I thought they did an okay job," Snyder stated. "For our guys to finish second was solid. It was what I expected for the first race. Duquesne was always a team we've had ahead of us. The rest of the guys did a really good job at packing up as they all finished within seconds of each other."
Among five teams, Temple finished second behind host Duquesne. The Owls, ranked 15th in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the USTFCCCA preseason rankings, finished ahead of Pittsburgh who was 14th in the regional rankings.
"Next week at the Big 5 Invitational we'll have a much clearer picture of where we are," said Snyder.
Temple will host the annual Big 5 Invitational on Sept. 9 at Belmont Plateau.
Temple Results
8 Zach Seiger, 26:38.1
9 Kevin Lapsansky, 26:49.1
11 Ben Evans, 26:50.6
17 Tyji Mays, 27:19.9
18 Justin Yurchak, 27:23.4
19 Donovan Mears, 27:25.4
Full Results
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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