Men's XC Wins Tri-State Invitational

LINCOLN, R.I. – The Mitchell College men's cross country team finished first overall at the 2011 Tri-State Invitational on Saturday afternoon at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) Lincoln campus.

The Mariners placed four runners among the top 10 individual finishers and recorded a team total of 49 points. The margin was enough to hold off runners-up Worcester State University and CCRI (54 points each), along with Clark University (68) and Anna Maria College (124).

Freshman Sherif Ali continued his streak of leading the Mariners and finished second overall in the field of 46 runners. His time of 26:48 marked his fastest time of the season on an eight kilometer course.

With Ali setting the pace, the trio of freshman Jake Ustjanaskos, freshman Evan Garrity and sophomore Drew Castagna scored big points for the Mariners. All three clocked in with season-best times as Ustjanaskos finished in seventh (27:47), Garrity in eighth (28:05) and Castagna in ninth (28:13). Junior Zachary Hoch completed the scoring with a 23rd place finish in a time of 32:07.

Mitchell will next compete at the James Earley Invitational on Saturday, October 8 in Westfield, MA. The race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.