The UMBC men's and women's cross country squads get right back into action on Saturday, Sept. 9 as head coach Matt Gittermann's harriers compete at the U.S. Naval Academy. The women take part in the Salty Dog Invitational at 9:45 a.m., while the men follow in the Navy Invitational at 11:00 a.m.
Competing Teams: American, Bowie State, McDaniel, St. Mary's (Md.), Navy, UMBC
In Review: The Retrievers opened the 2017 by competing in the Mount St. Mary's 5K duals on Friday, Sept. 1.
Junior Matt Kane (Sykesville, Md./Century) led the squad and posted an eighth-place finish (of 85 competitors). Kane completed the course in a time of 15:39.28, 21 seconds faster than his 12th-place finish from a year ago. It was the first time in his career that Kane led his teammates across the line.
The men posted two dual meet victories and conceded two defeats in the opening competition for all five squads. UMBC defeated the host Mountaineers, 21-39, and Franklin Pierce, 15-50, but fell to American, 16-39, and George Washington, 20-37.
Senior Urgy Eado (Rockville, Md.) posted a top 15 finish, crossing in 13th position at 15:49.85, cutting nearly 35 seconds off his mark from a year ago at the 5k's. The other three Retriever scorers placed in 17th, 18th and 19th positions. Sophomore Matt Bennett (Dunkirk, Md./Northern) was two seconds behind Eado at 15:51.93, while junior Nathan Nadal (Silver Spring, Md.) and senior Rhys Burgett (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) clocked in at 15:53.99 and 15:56.34 respectively.
Last Time at Navy: UMBC competed in the Navy Invitational on Sept. 10, 2016. Seven Retrievers finished the 8k course within a span of 50 seconds, paced by Burgett, who placed 13th overall in a time of 26;12.74. Eado and Nadal crossed in back-to-back positions, coming in 15th (26:25.27) and 16th (26:28.10) respectively. Senior Luke Kessler (Haddon Township, N.J.) was UMBC's fifth-place finisher, placing 21st overall at 26:53.06.
National power Navy occupied the first five positions in the meet and totaled 15 points. .GW (61) edged UMBC (64) for second, while Loyola (131) and McDaniel (137) rounded out the field.
Up Next: The Retrievers have nearly the rest of the month away from competition, as they next compete at Lehigh's Paul Short Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29.
