Results

CARLISLE, Pa. – Junior Bobby Over became the first runner in the history of Allegheny cross country to repeat as the NCAA regional champion, as he led the Gators to a fifth-place finish out of 49 teams at the 2012 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on Saturday. Over left no doubt in defending his individual crown, pulling away from the region's top competitors over the final 2k en route to a dominating win.

“It was awesome to see Bobby get the win,” exclaimed Head Coach Brent Wilkerson. “He didn't need to push too hard down the stretch which should help keep him fresh for next week. Although we got some great performances from our guys, we weren't aggressive enough at the start, and will definitely look to have a better showing if we can get an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.”

Sharing the lead with three other runners, Over delivered a sensational finish to break the tape in 25:09.6. Second place went to Haverford's Chris Stadler, who closed 13 seconds behind Over's winning performance, while Allegheny's third-year harrier authored the third regional title for a Gator runner in the last four years.

The nationally-ranked No. 19 Gators finished fifth in a highly competitive team battle, while Haverford, who entered the weekend as the nation's top-ranked team in Division III, finished at the top of the team board. Carnegie Mellon, which was ranked No. 20 in the latest USTFCCCA rankings, powered to second while No. 25 Johns Hopkins finished third. No. 23 Dickinson finished just ahead of Allegheny in the scoring, although all five teams have aspirations for a spot in the field at next week's NCAA Championship.

“Our team result was a little heartbreaking because we wanted to finish in the top three,” added Wilkerson. “Last season we worked extremely hard to finish third but then fell a little flat at nationals. We wanted to be more conservative this time around. We don't like the idea of settling for fifth, but we hope the strategy pays dividends if we compete next week.”

Freshman Logan Steiner finished second for Allegheny and 17th overall. Navigating the 8k race in 26:00.9, Steiner manufactured the best rookie performance on the day while earning NCAA All-Region honors.

Senior Kevin Edwards also garnered All-Region accolades after closing in 28th. Finishing with a time of 26:14.3, Edwards elicited postseason laurels from the region for the second consecutive year and his experience will by key if Allegheny is fortunate enough to extend its season.

Sophomore James Rynes, who has arguably been the team's most improved runner this season, enjoyed another strong effort as he finished 38th in a time of 26:28.2. Senior Brennan Hamilton (26:55.7) finished just ahead of junior Jack Denison (26:59.6) to cap the team scoring for Allegheny, which closed the meet with 141 points.

Second-year competitor Alex Simon rounded out the Gators' contingent after finishing in 74th with a time of 27:11.5. With a solid finish by Simon, Allegheny joined Haverford as the only two teams in the field to place all seven of its runners inside the top 75.