PURCHASE, N.Y. - The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's cross country team had a dominant showing on Saturday morning at the Purchase College Invitational. The Mariners finished first among 12 teams in a competitive field of Division II and III programs, with 36 points to defeat DII St. Thomas Aquinas by 36 points. The Blue and Gray boasted four top-10 finishes and numerous personal bests at the meet, finishing as the top Skyline Conference program in the 6K race on the day.
Meet Link
Sophomore Cooper Johnson (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the way for USMMA with a fourth-place finish and a personal-best time of 20:10.1, while classmate Caden Davis (Katy, Texas) came across in fifth and PR'ed with a time of 20:26.7. Sophomores Arjun Suresh (Plainsboro, N.J.) and Enois Maceira (Monroe Township, N.J.) rounded out the top-10 finishers for Merchant Marine, with Suresh crossing the finish line in seventh with a time of 20:48.5, while Maceira posted a personal best of 21:14 and a 10th place finish.
Freshman Steven Kirschner (Rudyard, Mich.) and senior Ben Anastasoff (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) had top-15 finishes, with Kirschner coming across the tape in 12th with a personal-best time of 21:20.0, while Anastasoff followed in 13th with a personal best of 21:24.6. Sophomore Chase Pavlow (Holland, Pa.) and classmate Brayden Mercier (Valparaiso, Ind.) also had personal bests with times of 22:16.6 and 22:40.4.
The Mariners return to competition next Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Cardinal Invitational, hosted by Wesleyan University, at noon.
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