The Rowan University men’s cross country team placed second out of seven in the New Jersey Atlantic Conference (NJAC) Championships this past Saturday. 

The team’s top finisher, sophomore Cyril Harvey, placed sixth in the race.

The Profs didn’t get the first place result they wanted, but, according to Harvey, they still had themselves a solid performance.

“We had a strong showing,” Harvey said. “We raced well as a team and I think it was our strongest team performance so far this season. I am happy with the progress we are making, and I am looking forward to seeing what we can do at regionals.”

Rowan’s second finisher, sophomore Kevin Lauer, was questionable to run this week with a sprained ankle. He placed seventh overall in the meet.

Lauer scored a personal best for an 8K race, with a time of 25:07.7. He was very happy with his performance.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better day,” Lauer said. “Personal best is always good. The team overall, we can’t ask for a better performance. Pretty much everyone [set a personal record] there too.”

Head coach, Dustin Dimit, expressed how the team really wanted first place, but a great performance by the Ramapo College of New Jersey denied them of it.

“You’ve got to give it to Ramapo that they ran a really good race,” Dimit said. “We hope we can come back and beat them at regionals, which will really matter for nationals.”

Regionals are up next for the Profs, and this race will decide if Rowan will be featured at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship in Kentucky later this month. Coach Dimit spoke briefly about the goal for the Atlantic Regional race.

“The goal is always to be top ten in the region,” Dimit said. “Hopefully top five, which would give us a pretty good chance to make the national meet.”

Mark your calendars, the Profs will be making their way up to St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York on Nov. 16 for the NCAA Atlantic Regionals as the ninth ranked team with a trip to Kentucky on the line.

For comments/questions about this story, email sports@thewhitonline.com or tweet @TheWhitOnline.