LATROBE, Pa. - Senior Randy Violette placed second, one of three Gators to finish in the top-10, as the 21st-ranked Allegheny men's cross country finished second in the team standings at the Saint Vincent Invitational.

The second-place finish equaled a career-best for Violette, who covered the hilly, rainy 8-kilometer course in 26:46.  

"I'm very pleased with the way we ran today," said Allegheny head coach Ben Mourer '07.  "Randy looked great out there, and really ran a solid race." 

Violette led a Gator contingent that saw each of its top three runners place in the top eight of the 218-man field.  Junior John Hughes was Allegheny's second finisher, turning in a time of 26:53, two places and three seconds ahead of classmate Carter Smith.

While the team's top three were tightly packed throughout the race, team champion Carnegie Mellon's top five were separated by just eight places and 20 seconds to propel the Tartans to a team score of just 42 points, 21 ahead of Allegheny.

"Our men mixed it up great, especially in the top end," said Mourer, "but we have to work on closing our 1-5 gap."

Senior Emmett Barr was Allegheny's fourth finisher, placing 23rd in a time of 28:17, three seconds in front of sophomore Louis McUmber who took 24th.  Senior Justin Koch placed 29th overall in 28:26, while junior Ben Evans gave the Gators five runners in the top 40, with a 38th-place finish in 28:46.

Austin Cooper of Indiana (Pa.) finished first overall with a winning time of 26:27.  The 17-team field featured a mix of schools from both the Division II and III classifications.  Following Carnegie Mellon and Allegheny, the University of Pittsburgh Club placed third, with West Virginia Wesleyan and host Saint Vincent comprising the top five in the team standings.

The Gators will return to action in two weeks, as they'll travel to Bethlehem, Pa. on Oct. 1 to take part in the prestigious Paul Short Invite hosted by Lehigh University.