Men’s cross country places second at CAA championships

The JMU men’s cross country squad finished second at the Colonial Athletic Association Conference Championship last Saturday. Senior Ted Herbert, sophomore C.W. Moran and junior Allen Carr took All-Conference honors.

The College of William & Mary won the five-mile race, which was held at JMU’s home course.

William & Mary nearly had a perfect score. Tribe senior Pat Comstock passed Herbert and Moran to take fifth place overall. However, his teammate Ian Fitzgerald, who was in the front pack, dropped out of the race from dehydration. As a result, Herbert and Moran broke up William & Mary’s top five.

The JMU squad knew coming in that nationally ranked William & Mary would be a formidable foe, Dukes’ coach Dave Rinker said. Nevertheless, the Dukes were determined to stay competitive with them.

"We were hoping to let them know they were in a race," Rinker said.

Herbert was followed by Moran, who finished in sixth place with a time of 25:46. Moran stayed neck and neck with Herbert throughout the race.

"It was a better race that I had," Moran said of his strong season. "But I had a lot more to give."

Rinker said, "He has yet to hit the race he’s capable of."

Carr earned All-Conference honors by placing ninth with a time of 26:09. No. 4 and No. 5 runners, sophomores Bryan Backland and Teddy Stevenson paced each other to top-15 finishes to round out the Dukes’ top five.