University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutemen To Wrap Up Season at IC4A Championships
November 19, 2009 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 19, 2009
NEW YORK, NY - The UMass men's cross country team is set to compete in their final meet of the 2009 season this weekend at the IC4A Championships. This will be the first time that the Minutemen travel to New York City this season. The meet is set to kick off at 10:30 am.
Last week the Minutemen were able to capture 11th place out of a field of 36 at the NCAA Regional Qualifier. Leading the team the team for the second straight week was junior Kevin Johnson who took 43rd overall with a time of 32:47. Next up for UMass were Jonathan Pierce and David Johnson who finished in 53rd and 56th respectively with times of 33:00 and 33:02. Rounding out the top five scorers who combined for 323 points were Andrew McCann and Daniel Barry who finished with times of 33:32 and 33:36. The duo took 84th and 87th respectively.
Heading into the last meet, several of the Minutemen are looking to add to their season accolades. Kevin Johnson has finished in the top five for UMass in all five meets that he has ran in this year. Running with confidence, Johnson will be looking to make it four straight weeks as the team's top finisher. Jonathan Pierce is looking to finish strong as he has propelled himself to a top five team finish in five-of-six meets this season, with his only non-top five finish being at the A-10 Championships (10/31) where he finished sixth on the team. Both Kevin Johnson and Pierce have been named UMass Athlete of the Week; Johnson took home the honor most recently on Nov. 2, while Pierce captured the accolade on Oct. 5.
Junior David Johnson has continued his emergence as a top competitor for the Minutemen as he has scored in all five meets that he has competed in thus far. He was able to capture first place on the team at the UMass Five-Way Meet (9/19). Zachary Gordon has also shown he can compete this year as a sophomore, scoring for the Minutemen in four-of-five meets. He posted his career best time in the 8k at the New England Championships (10/10) where he crossed the line with a time of 25:34. Leading by example, senior Andrew McCann has scored in all six meets that he has competed in thus far. His top two team finishes for UMass came at the ISU-Pre Nationals (10/17) and the A-10 Championships (10/31) where he took third and second respectively.
The Minutemen will travel to the Big Apple for a start time of 10:30 am. The women will also be heading to New York, N.Y., but for the ECAC Championships which begin at 11:00 am.
