ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Shane Henderson, Evan Brennan and Carlos Santos Jr. finished 3-4-5, helping the Stony Brook men's cross country team finish first at the Friar Invitational on Friday afternoon.

For the second straight weekend, the Seawolves secured a first place finish as a team to begin the 2023 cross country season. Henderson, the reigning CAA Male Runner of the Week, again paced Stony Brook. His 18:15.2 clocking was good enough for third place, leading the pack of Seawolves. Brennan followed closely behind, finishing 0.7 seconds after Henderson for fourth place. Santos grabbed fifth place with an 18:18.5 clocking.

The Stony Brook men had 12 runners in total at the event, seeing five student-athletes finish top-20 and eight finish inside the top-30 in a field that featured more than 50 competitors. Eben Bragg raced to a 18:57.1 finish, crossing 11th. Michael Hawkes covered the course in 19:12.0, good for 16th place.

Three freshmen competed for Stony Brook, led by Henry Gartner's 22nd place finish (19:25.4). Neel Chittur (43rd) and Joseph Bertola (52nd) were the other rookie runners for the Seawolves. Joining Gartner inside the top-30 were Thomas Burfeind and Michael Fama, who finished 25th and 26th, respectively. Eric Shu (31st) and Nick Tardugno (44th) rounded out the field for the Seawolves.

QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Encouraging team performance by the guys today in difficult weather conditions and against some good regional opponents. The top three guys up front did a nice job with Mike Hawkins and Eben Bragg producing strong back up for them. Early days in the season, but I feel we are in a good place. The ladies had a solid day at the office, Grace and Fiona did well up front but we struggled a little at the three through five spot, but nothing that can't be fixed as we progress through the season," head coach Andy Ronan noted post meet.

NEXT UP
Stony Brook returns to action later this month at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University on Sept. 30.

For an inside look at the Seawolves cross country program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.