OBERLIN, Ohio - Boasting three of the race's top six finishers, the Allegheny men's cross country team placed second at the 2017 North Coast Athletic Conference Championship, hosted by Oberlin College.

A trio of Gator veterans placed in the top six, while freshman Adam Cook (pictured above) was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year, but it wasn't enough for the Gators to defend their conference title, as DePauw won the title by an 18-point margin. 

Senior John Hughes led Allegheny once again, as he continued his stellar senior campaign by placing third in the 100-runner field with a time of 24:44 in the 8-kilometer race, a new personal record.  With his finish, Hughes earned First Team All-NCAC honors for the first time in his career, while it marks the third straight season in which he was an all-conference performer.  Last season, Hughes placed eighth at the conference meet to earn Second Team accolades, while as a sophomore in 2015, he was an Honorable Mention pick after taking 13th.  In five races thus far in 2017, Hughes has placed fifth or higher in four of them.

Two weeks removed from his first career first place finish (also at Oberlin), junior Matt Svetz placed fourth at the NCAC race, just over three seconds behind Hughes.  Svetz's time of 24:47 is a new career-best, as it topped his previous personal mark by 12 seconds.  It was Svetz's fourth top-10 finish in five races this season, and marks his first career First Team All-NCAC honor, after he was a Second Team honoree last season with a 14th place effort at the conference meet.

Senior Carter Smith was a third First Team All-NCAC performer for the Gators, as he placed sixth overall with a time of 25:27.  It was the veteran's third top-10 finish this season, and he is now a two-time all-conference honoree, as he took home Second Team honors at the 2016 NCAC Championship with an eighth place finish.

Freshman Adam Cook occupied the Gators' fourth spot, as he placed 22nd overall with a time of 26:28.  Cook was the highest finisher among all rookies in the field, and was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year, becoming the fifth Allegheny recipient of the honor, and first since Logan Steiner in 2012. 

Sophomore Benjamin Slack-Foust closed out the Gator scoring five, as he finished 24th overall with a time of 26:31.  It marks his highest individual finish of the season, while he shattered his previous personal best 8K time by 31 seconds.

Right behind Slack-Foust, fellow sophomore Seth Conard placed 26th with a time of 26:32, 26 seconds faster than his previous career mark.

While DePauw and Allegheny each had three runners place in the top eight, the Tigers saw each of their top five finish better than 17th to make up the difference in the standings.

Wabash junior Dominic Patacsil was named the NCAC Runner of the Year after placing first with a time of 24:34, topping second-place finisher Polo Burguete of DePauw by nine seconds.

Following DePauw (40) and Allegheny (59) in the team standings, Wabash placed third with 79 points, followed by Wooster (118), Ohio Wesleyan (121), Denison (160), Oberlin (172), Kenyon (202), and Wittenberg (223).

Allegheny will now prep for the 2017 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship, scheduled for Nov. 11 at Ohio Wesleyan.  The top two teams at the regional race gain an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship, scheduled for Nov. 18 in Elsah, Illinois.  The Gators will be vying for their third straight trip to the NCAA Championship race.

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