Complete Results

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Allegheny men's cross country approached Saturday's 2011 DeSales Invitational with a team mindset, implementing a workout designed to focus on the team's ability to pack run during the championship part of the season. The strategy, while hampering the potential of the Gators' top harriers, worked to perfection in the team standings as Allegheny finished second overall out of 45 teams.

Junior Bobby Over continued his outstanding campaign, finishing second in the individual standings despite pacing the team's top seven through the first half of the race. The Gators kept their entire scoring contingent together through the first four kilometers before putting in a 2k surge. Over pulled away from the group in the final stretch and finished in 26:01.29.

Senior Pat McLaughlin, who also looked sharp on Saturday, finished 11th overall and edged out teammate Kevin Edwards. McLaughlin split 26:32.71 while Edwards completed the tough 8k circuit in 26:37.21.

There were 45 teams and 448 runners in a field that included most of the top squads in the region, and the fact that the Gators could place three runners inside the top 15 with a strategic start, should serve as a strong indicator that the team has high aspirations for a strong postseason.

“I was really happy with the way we ran today,” said head coach Brent Wilkerson. “A couple of guys had nice breakthroughs running on a tough course, and our 5-6-7 guys are competing well. Jack in particular gave us a surprising effort, and everyone was happy to see Alex's hard work begin to pay off with a good race.”

Mike Vlah and Jack Denison capped the scoring for the Blue and Gold. Vlah finished 34th in 27:16.04 and Denison slipped through the chute in 46th with a time of 27:41.15. Covering the sixth and seventh spots were rookies James Rynes and Alex Simon, who also delivered solid performances.

Nationally-ranked No. 6 Dickinson secured the team title with a total of 58 points, while Allegheny closed comfortably in second (104). Messiah (149), which is ranked ninth in the region, and Saint Vincent (151), which entered the day ranked eighth, finished third and fourth, respectively. Kutztown scored 195 to round out the top five on the team board.