MXC Eyes Title at Fall Festival
9/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Seven members of the Seton Hall men's cross country squad placed in the top-30 in last weekend's season-opening turn at the Monmouth XC Kick Off and on Sunday, the Pirates will return to the 5K St. John's-Hofstra Fall Festival where five top-20 performances helped The Hall to a second-place finish a year ago.
Seton Hall returns all five scorers from last season's trip to the Fall Festival but thanks in large part to improved quality throughout the squad, none of those individuals ranked among the top-five on the team in the 2014 opener.
The top spot for the Pirates at Monmouth belonged to senior Kevin Walsh (Deltaville, Va.) who kicked-off his final campaign with a new personal-best 6K time of 19:53.2 to pace the team for the first time in his career. Kevin was joined by his brother John Walsh (Deltaville, Va.) in re-setting his personal 6K record as John returned to the scoring group for the first time since 2011 with a 20:10.9 showing that was fourth-fastest for The Hall on the men's side (21st overall).
The pair of senior leaders completed the day as the only returnees to score for a revamped men's side that features five freshmen for the fall. The group of newcomers wasted no time making an impact as aa trio of Pirates making their collegiate debuts placed among the top-25 overall to round out the scoring contingent.
Jeff Larson (Yucca Valley, Calif.) was at the head of this infusion of depth, clocking in at 19:56.3 to claim 14th overall with the second-fastest Seton Hall time of the day. Classmate Bryant Cordova (Elizabeth, N.J.) nearly cracked the 20-minute mark as well, crossing the line just over six seconds and two finishers later.
Fellow Garden State product Jake Simon (Freehold, N.J.) was the next runner to reach the finish after John Walsh, coming in 22nd-place overall.
The efforts of Larson, Cordova and Simon extended what has become a significant streak for The Hall. As the program continues to grow and establish its cross country roots, the Seton Hall men have now had at least three freshmen contribute scoring times in every meet dating back to the 2013 opener.
One freshman who was consistently among the team's top performers last year was Sean Kip (Union, N.J.) who on Saturday collected a 24th-place effort with a new personal-best time at the 6K distance (20:22.0).
Kip was one of the five returning competitors who led the Pirates to a second-place showing at the Fall Festival last September along with classmates Cameron Quisenberry (Owensboro, Ky.) and Victor Ricci (Narragansett, R.I.) as well as junior Ryan Flannery (Forked River, N.J.) and senior Tyler Orner (Sinking Spring, Pa.).
The presence of such experience combined with talented newcomers figures to make the Seton Hall men a legitimate contender for team title which they missed out on by a mere seven points in their most recent trip to Oakdale.
Start-time tomorrow is slated for 10:30 a.m. Follow @SHUPiratesXC on Twitter for updates on the squad throughout the season.
