Men's Cross Country Adds Nine Recruits to 2020 Roster

PHILADELPHIA – Temple men's cross country head coach James Snyder has announced the signing of nine talented runners that will join the Owls for the 2020 season. The signees include Zach Marmol, Christian Fitch, Josh Christianson, Erik Kain, Jimmy Koel, Jesse Dimich-Louvet, Tyler Fauvelle, Jules Robin and Harry Norman.

"This is a very exciting recruiting class for us," expressed Snyder. "It's the largest and most talented that we have ever brought in. Bringing in nine guys from across the country and across the world is certainly exciting and a lot of the recruiting credit for this class goes out to assistant coach Tyler Deck Shipley for all the work that he put in over the last two years. His trademark is all over this class."

Zach Marmol of Pittsburgh, Pa. will enter the 2020 season one year after finishing eighth at the Pennsylvania Boys High School Cross Country Class AAA Championships, where he earned Second Team All-State honors. Marmol collected another top-10 finish at the 2019 WPIAL Cross Country Championships with his sixth-place mark, one spot higher than his 2018 finish. The soon-to-be Peters Township High School graduate plans on majoring in Civil Engineering at Temple.

Christian Fitch is another Second Team All-State runner out of the Pittsburgh area. The Fox Chapel Area School District senior ran to a fourth-place finish at the WPIAL Cross Country Championships before placing 11th at the state meet. His junior year, Fitch finished fifth at the state championships to earn First Team All-State recognition. The three-year high honor roll recipient intends to major in Kinesiology and Exercise Science when he arrives on Broad Street.

Josh Christianson is Temple's third and final signee out of the state of Pennsylvania. The Scranton native has finished in the top 25 at the Pennsylvania Boys High School Cross Country Class AAA Championships both his junior and senior seasons. Christianson is looking to major in Exercise Science at TU.

"In being a Pennsylvania state school, it's obviously a huge piece of our program to try and keep the best guys from in state, in the state," commented Snyder. "Christian, Zach and Josh are coming in with some really solid credentials and they will be guys that we expect to rely on right away."

The Cherry and White add Muskego, Wisconsin native Erik Kain to the 2020 roster. Kain finished First Team All-State in 2019 after placing 13th at the Wisconsin State Championships. His junior year, Kain earned a spot on Second Team All-State with his 23rd-place finish at the state meet. The three-time First Team All-Conference honoree will study in Temple's Actuarial Science program.

Jimmy Koel is the second signee out of the state of Wisconsin to sign with the Owls. His senior year, Koel earned Second Team All-State as he led Germantown High School to an eighth-place team finish. Koel finished in the top-30 at the state meet both his junior and senior year, while he earned First Team All-Greater Metro Conference in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Koel will major in Architecture at Temple.

"Erik and Jimmy are the first two guys we've ever signed from Wisconsin," stated coach Snyder. "I'm excited to have some new faces from different places coming out here to Philly. They were both really excited about our athletic program but also the academics here at Temple."

Jesse Dimich-Louvet out of Billings, Montana joins the Temple squad with an impressive resume. The 2019 USATF Montana Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year ran to a third-place finish in the 5000m at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in December 2019. Dimich-Louvet led his Billings Senior High School team with top-20 finishes his sophomore, junior and senior years, earning All-State honors for the latter two. His athleticism carries from the trails to the court, as he was the Montana Boys High School Tennis Singles Champion his sophomore year. Although undecided, Dimich-Louvet is leaning towards majoring in Journalism or Sport Management.

"Jesse has been All-State in Montana in cross country and is somebody we believe has the competitive instincts and the long term vision of being a big contributor to our program," commented Snyder.

Boonville, N.Y. native Tyler Fauvelle was a CSC League All-Star each of his four years at Adirondack Central School. His sophomore and junior years, he was named the All-Mohawk Valley Cross Country Athlete of the Year, while earning the 2019 Sportsmanship Promotion Award following his senior campaign. The two-time CSC League Champion, Fauvelle finished sixth at the New York Boys High School Cross Country Class C Championships in 2018 and ran to a fourth-place finish at the same meet in 2019. Fauvelle intends to major in Sport Management at Temple.

"Tyler was top 10 in the state of New York in cross country," recounted coach Snyder. "He stacks right in there with the rest of this class."

Jules Robin will enter his first season on Broad Street following an impressive 2019 campaign. The Paris, France native won three major cross country races last year, including the U18 Inter Regional meet, the U18 Regional race and the U18 District event. In 2018, Robin placed ninth at the U18 French Cross Country Nationals and 12th at the Selective Race Cross Country U20 European Championships. Robin will study Political Science at TU.

"Jules comes in with some really good pedigree over the longer distances," expressed Snyder. "Jules is someone who just recently started training for cross country, as he has a triathlon background."

Harry Norman out of Victoria, Australia will join the Owls in Philadelphia come this fall. Norman ran two top-10 finishes in 2019, including a sixth-place mark at the Victorian Championship in the 5000m and eighth at the U20 Australian Championship in the same event. Norman also collected a 16th-place finish at the Oceania Cross Country Championship in 2018. The Aussie hopes to major in Geography, Urban Studies or Environmental Studies.

"Harry, our first athlete from the southern hemisphere, is someone who has had some success over the longer distances, which tends to translate well in our program," commented Snyder.

This incoming class arrives after the exit of a remarkable group of runners composed of Kevin Lapsansky, Zach Seiger, Donovan Mears, Anton Harrsen, Harry Powell and David Westcott. These student-athletes paved the way for a bright future for the Temple men's cross country program.

"If you look at the guys that are walking out of our program, they embodied the mantra of 'leave something better than you found it.' All these guys that are moving on really helped put our program on the map and are a huge reason why we are having this great new class coming in this year," reflected coach Snyder. "The young guys saw what Zach, Kevin, Donovan, Anton, Harry and Westcott were able to build so the challenge is now in the hands of our new guys to help elevate our program to another level."

Temple University Athletics

Men's Cross Country Adds Nine Recruits to 2020 Roster

Players Mentioned

Anton Harrsen

Kevin Lapsansky

Donovan Mears

Harry Powell

Zach Seiger

David Westcott

Related Videos