Seton Hall University
BIG EAST Championships
Ricci Paces Hall at BIG EAST Championships
11/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 2, 2013
Photo Gallery
SOMERS, WIS. - The promise for the future was on full display for the Seton Hall men's cross country team at this afternoon's 2013 BIG EAST Championship meet as four underclassmen scored for the Pirates as the squad strode to a ninth-place finish.
Freshman Victor Ricci (Narragansett, R.I.) was the team's top performer on the day, leading The Hall for the fourth time in seven meets during his debut season. Ricci delivered the Pirates' best 8K time of the season, crossing the line in 45th place overall at the 26:34 mark. His effort eclipsed his own previous team-best of 27:09.13 from the Delaware Invitational.
Classmate Cameron Quisenberry (Owensboro, Ky.) made it a 1-2 freshman finish for SHU by completing the course in a personal-best 27:10, ranking second on the squad for the second time in three meets with a 58th place showing. He bested his previous fastest time by more than 30 seconds and Quisenberry and Ricci remain the only Pirates to score in every meet this season. The Kentucky native has also now been in the team's top-three on five occasions this season.
Sophomore Ryan Flannery (Forked River, N.J.) was the next runner across the line after Quisenberry, edging Creighton freshman Matthew Piercy to claim 59th place with a time of 27:17. He eclipsed his previous personal record by more than one second and has now scored in both of his trips to the conference meet after finishing second on the squad a year ago.
Senior Carl Johnston (Surrey, British Columbia) and freshman Alex Mallue (Canton, Ohio) also finished back-to-back to round out the scoring group for Seton Hall. Johnston clocked in at 28:13 (68th place) to finish among the Seton Hall top-five at the conference championship for the third time in his career. Mallue came in 10 seconds later, out-pacing Joe Atria of DePaul at the end to claim 69th place with a 28:23 mark.
The Pirates finished with 253 team points while #26 Villanova claimed the team crown behind individual champion Patrick Tiernan (23:51) with a collective total of 36 points.
The road does not end in Wisconsin for 2013 SHU cross country teams however as two championship meets remain on the schedule. The Hall will return to action on Friday, November 15 when they travel to Bethlehem, Pa. for the 2013 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. Start-time is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
