Army West Point Athletics

Black Knights End Season At Northeast Regional
November 15, 2019 | Men's Cross Country
BUFFALO, N.Y - The Army West Point men's cross country team finished seventh at the NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country Championships on Friday.
With weather causing dangerous running conditions this weekend, the race was moved from Audubon Golf Course to a road course on the University of Buffalo campus. The Black Knights started strong, sitting second through 3.5k of the 10k race, but the Cadets were unable to keep their pace in the second half, falling to seventh at 5.6k where they would ultimately finish.
Senior Robbie Santoyo was the team's top finisher, crossing the line 30th at 29:41.3. Sophomore Marshall Beatty placed shortly behind in 38th at 29:43.0 and senior Ben Petrella was 46th at 29:51.6. Freshman Garrett Gough, the Patriot League Rookie of the Year, placed 69th and senior Roman Ollar, who qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championship in 2018, placed 75th.Â
COACH'S CORNER: Head Coach Mike Smith
"Obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, but that it how it goes sometimes. We had some good runs today and we competed well early, but could not move up in the race when it counted and that cost us in the end. Robbie held his position through most of the race, and Marshall was able to close fairly well. Garrett had a nice run. That was his first 10k and I thought he handled it well. Â
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"I am most disappointed for our seniors. Ben, Robbie and Roman have had great cross country careers and been the driving force behind our recent success and I had hoped that their season would not end here. We have high expectations so a 7th place finish, while historically competitive for our program, does not measure up to the standard that our seniors have set.Â
TOP FINISHERS:Â
30. Robbie Santoyo - 29:41.3
38. Marshall Beatty - 29:43.0
46. Ben Petrella - 29:51.6
69. Garrett Gough - 30:09.5
75. Roman Ollar - 30:18.2
TEAM RESULTS:Â
1. Harvard - 59 points
2. Syracuse - 86 points
3. Iona - 96 points
4. UMass Lowell - 157 points
5. Stony Brook - 176 pointsÂ
6. Dartmouth - 228 points
7. Army - 258 points
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With weather causing dangerous running conditions this weekend, the race was moved from Audubon Golf Course to a road course on the University of Buffalo campus. The Black Knights started strong, sitting second through 3.5k of the 10k race, but the Cadets were unable to keep their pace in the second half, falling to seventh at 5.6k where they would ultimately finish.
Senior Robbie Santoyo was the team's top finisher, crossing the line 30th at 29:41.3. Sophomore Marshall Beatty placed shortly behind in 38th at 29:43.0 and senior Ben Petrella was 46th at 29:51.6. Freshman Garrett Gough, the Patriot League Rookie of the Year, placed 69th and senior Roman Ollar, who qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championship in 2018, placed 75th.Â
COACH'S CORNER: Head Coach Mike Smith
"Obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, but that it how it goes sometimes. We had some good runs today and we competed well early, but could not move up in the race when it counted and that cost us in the end. Robbie held his position through most of the race, and Marshall was able to close fairly well. Garrett had a nice run. That was his first 10k and I thought he handled it well. Â
Â
"I am most disappointed for our seniors. Ben, Robbie and Roman have had great cross country careers and been the driving force behind our recent success and I had hoped that their season would not end here. We have high expectations so a 7th place finish, while historically competitive for our program, does not measure up to the standard that our seniors have set.Â
TOP FINISHERS:Â
30. Robbie Santoyo - 29:41.3
38. Marshall Beatty - 29:43.0
46. Ben Petrella - 29:51.6
69. Garrett Gough - 30:09.5
75. Roman Ollar - 30:18.2
TEAM RESULTS:Â
1. Harvard - 59 points
2. Syracuse - 86 points
3. Iona - 96 points
4. UMass Lowell - 157 points
5. Stony Brook - 176 pointsÂ
6. Dartmouth - 228 points
7. Army - 258 points
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