STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Seawolves' men's cross country team got the season off with a bang as they won the Stony Brook Season Opener outright on Saturday morning. As a team, they collected 17 points and won the 6K race by a wide margin as the second-place team, Wagner finished with 66 points.
 
Graduate Robert Becker led the pack for Stony Brook as he was the individual winner of the race. Becker narrowly edged two of his teammates, graduate Carlos Santos and senior Shane Henderson who finished in second and third-place, respectively.  
 
As a team, the Seawolves had nine runners place within the top 20 of the pack. Joining Becker, Santos, and Henderson in the top 20 was Conor Malanaphy (fifth-place), Evan Brennan (sixth-place), Aiden Smyth (eighth-place), Kyle Urban (12^th-place), Michael Hawkes (17^th-place), and Nick Tarduhno (18^th-place).
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Becker recorded a first-place time of 18:48.3 and ran an average mile of 8:06.7 The graduate won the Stony Brook Season Opener for the second year in a row.
• Santos took home a second-place finished as he crossed the finish line in 18:51.1 and ran at a pace of 8.08 per mile. Right behind Santos came Henderson who clocked a final time of 18:55.6 and ran at a pace of 8:09.9 per mile.
• Malanaphy and Brennan earned back-to-back finishes. Malanaphy came in fifth with a time of 19:03.8, while Brennan came in sixth with a time of 19:04.9.
• Rounding out the Seawolves in the top 10 was Smyth who came in eighth-place with a final time of 19:06.6.

QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Really nice opening day for both teams. We have been training hard since returning to campus three weeks ago so it was nice to get everyone out in a competitive environment and see how they would react. Nice pack running by the guys, strong running up front, and we have good depth to back that up.
 
On the women's side, Fiona took control of the race early and looked composed throughout. The rest of the group competed well, and definitely see the signs that we can be a very good team by the end of October.
 
So overall, a good first day, but plenty of work to be done as we move forward through the season," said head coach Andy Ronan.
 
NEXT UP
Stony Brook is back on the trail on Friday, September 9, when it travels to Attleboro, Mass. to compete in the Friar Invitational.
 
For an inside look at the Seawolves men's cross country program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.