Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, October 29
Easton, PA
TBA
Army West Point
vs
Patriot League Championships
Army Second at Patriot League Championships
October 29, 2016 | Men's Cross Country
Easton, Pa. – The Army West Point men's cross country team has a strong finish to claim second place for the first time since 2008 at the Patriot League Championships on Saturday.
The Black Knights were led by junior Johnny Valeri (25 minutes 1.5 seconds) and senior Jacob Fong (25:08.0), finishing fourth and eighth respectfully. Army made a late push in the final half of the race as the top two finishers moved from 18th to their respected finished in those final moments.
ARMY'S TOP FINISHES
Johnny Valeri – fourth (25:01.5)
Jacob Fong – Eighth (25:08.0)
Robbie Santoyo – 16th (25:28.5)
William Bailey – 23rd (25:45.5)
COACH'S COMMENT:
"I thought we had a good chance to get second today if we raced well. We were in fourth or fifth as a team at the halfway point but our guys did not panic and our top five guys closed the gap up to the four mile mark. They then really picked people off in the last mile to surprise the field. I think we were third or fourth with 1000m to go but each guy caught one or two in that final straight to move us up to second.
"I am happy for the guys with the team place but more so with the way they stayed patient and then closed hard. Great effort from the entire group of men. Valeri and Fong stood out as they went from 17th to fourth and eighth all in the last mile."
CADETS COMMENT:
"As a team we really tried to stick to what Coach Smith laid out as our game plan," commented Valeri. "We stuck to our pack mentality and it really paid off as we were able to save our energy and really close the gap in the last half of the race
"We are looking forward to the NCAA Regionals and are going into the meet with confidence since we ran the course earlier in the year. We know that if we stick to what coach has been teaching us then we have the chance to really surprise some people."
UP NEXT:
Army heads to Van Cortlandt Park in New York, N.Y., for the NCAA Regional Championships on Nov. 11.
For more information on Army West Point men's cross country, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_TrackXC on Twitter.
The Black Knights were led by junior Johnny Valeri (25 minutes 1.5 seconds) and senior Jacob Fong (25:08.0), finishing fourth and eighth respectfully. Army made a late push in the final half of the race as the top two finishers moved from 18th to their respected finished in those final moments.
ARMY'S TOP FINISHES
Johnny Valeri – fourth (25:01.5)
Jacob Fong – Eighth (25:08.0)
Robbie Santoyo – 16th (25:28.5)
William Bailey – 23rd (25:45.5)
COACH'S COMMENT:
"I thought we had a good chance to get second today if we raced well. We were in fourth or fifth as a team at the halfway point but our guys did not panic and our top five guys closed the gap up to the four mile mark. They then really picked people off in the last mile to surprise the field. I think we were third or fourth with 1000m to go but each guy caught one or two in that final straight to move us up to second.
"I am happy for the guys with the team place but more so with the way they stayed patient and then closed hard. Great effort from the entire group of men. Valeri and Fong stood out as they went from 17th to fourth and eighth all in the last mile."
CADETS COMMENT:
"As a team we really tried to stick to what Coach Smith laid out as our game plan," commented Valeri. "We stuck to our pack mentality and it really paid off as we were able to save our energy and really close the gap in the last half of the race
"We are looking forward to the NCAA Regionals and are going into the meet with confidence since we ran the course earlier in the year. We know that if we stick to what coach has been teaching us then we have the chance to really surprise some people."
UP NEXT:
Army heads to Van Cortlandt Park in New York, N.Y., for the NCAA Regional Championships on Nov. 11.
For more information on Army West Point men's cross country, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_TrackXC on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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