Men's Cross Country 9/30/2017 1:21:00 PM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Wildcats Set Numerous Personal Bests At Mike Woods Invitational

MT. MORRIS, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's cross country team ran to an 11th place finish (out of 18 competing teams) today at the Mike Woods Invitational hosted at Letchworth State Park by the State University of New York at Geneseo. Daemen accumulated 335 points in the race standings, and each of the Wildcats' top five finishers established new career-best times in the 8K race today.

Meet host Geneseo, the No. 2 ranked team in the latest NCAA Division III poll from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), walked away with the team trophy today after placing all five of its scorers in the top 15 finishers. The Knights amassed just 35 points to sit comfortably ahead of second-place Rowan University.

Individually, it was Rowan's Kevin Veltre who paced the field of 238 competitors with a time of 24:44.0. Geneseo's Sean McAneny placed second with a time of 25:01.1.

Daemen was led today by sophomore Josh Bodnar (Fillmore, N.Y.) who crossed the finish line in 26:45.1 to finish in 63rd place. It was the first time Bodnar had gone sub-27 minutes in a collegiate race, shaving 45 seconds off his previous career-best time (27:30.3) which he set earlier this season at the Stampede Invitational.

Junior Lucas Canales (Ithaca, N.Y.) also went sub-27 minutes for the first time in his career, finishing 75th today with a time of 26:52.8. Canales' previous career-best time (27:08.6) also came Sept. 15 at the Stampede Invitational.

Junior Timothy Poole (Fayetteville, N.Y.) set a new benchmark time for the second-straight race. He finished 124th today with a time of 27:57.0, just one week after posting the first sub-29-minute time of his career (28:51.1) at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational.

Freshman Mike Swiniarski (Akron, N.Y.) came in as Daemen's fourth finisher today, placing 146th overall. Swiniarski went sub-29 minutes for the first time in his young career, posting a time of 28:25.2 which was more than a full minute better than his previous career-best time (29:32.9) set at the Stampede Invitational.

Rounding out the Wildcats' scorers today was redshirt freshman Cale Silvestri (Elma, N.Y.) who finished 158th with a time of 28:42.1. Just 15 days removed from posting a time of 30:34.7 at the Stampede Invitational, Silvestri knocked time off for the second-straight race. He went sub-29 minutes for the first time at last weekend's Harry F. Anderson Invitational (28:56.9), and knocked off an additional 14 seconds from that today.

Redshirt junior Zach Barnes (Jamestown, N.Y.) and freshman Alonzo Rodriguez-Spencer (Buffalo, N.Y.) also competed for Daemen today. Barnes finished 190th with a time of 30:13.2. Rodriguez-Spencer came in 217th with a time of 33:16.9.

Daemen is idle until Saturday, Oct. 14 when the team will partake in the Canisius Alumni Classic. That meet will the Wildcats' last tune up opportunity for the East Coast Conference Championship meet which is slated for Saturday, Oct. 21.

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Players Mentioned

Zach Barnes: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior

Josh Bodnar: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Lucas Canales: 5' 7"; Junior

Timothy Poole: 5' 11"; Junior

Alonzo Rodriguez-Spencer: 5' 9"; Freshman

Mike Swiniarski: 5' 9"; Freshman

Cale Silvestri: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Zach Barnes
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior

Josh Bodnar
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Lucas Canales
: 5' 7"; Junior

Timothy Poole
: 5' 11"; Junior

Alonzo Rodriguez-Spencer
: 5' 9"; Freshman

Mike Swiniarski
: 5' 9"; Freshman

Cale Silvestri
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman