Nor'easters share title at Pop Crowell Invite

WENHAM, Massachusetts -- The University of New England men's cross country team tied for first place in the 11-team field at the Pop Crowell Invitational held on the Gordon College campus Saturday (Sept. 26).

UNE and Wentworth Institute of Technology each totaled 42 points to outdistance themselves from the host Fighting Scots (80), who finished in third.

Paul Mangiafico was the first Nor'easter to finish, placing fourth with a time of 27:03. It was the first time in 19 meets that a runner other than CJ Vallie had been the first UNE runner to cross the finish line. Vallie was one spot behind Mangiafico, recording a time of 27:05.

Matthew Toussaint (27:23) finished in the Top 10 for the Nor'easters. He registered a time of 27:23. Jon Zalman (11th, 27:55) and Caleb Pulliam (14th, 28:15) rounded out UNE's contingent of scoring runners. Christian Leighton narrowly missed scoring, finishing a place back of Pulliam with a time of 28:18.

Gordon's Damon Kilgore won the event by nearly a minute, clocking a torrid 25:50 for victory.

The Nor'easters are off for a week before splitting their squad Oct. 10 with some runners participating at the James Earley Invitational and the remainder at the Runnin' Monks Invitational