By: Scott Eddy, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. – Graduate student Aiden Scattergood posted the fastest Atlantic 10 Championship time in St. Bonaventure men's cross country history Saturday morning under perfect conditions for the conference championship meet at Pole Green Park to highlight a strong day for the Bonnies on title weekend.
Scattergood paced the 8K Virginia layout in a time of 24:19.4 to show the way for the Bona's pack. His time placed 21st overall out of over 120 competitors and just .1 off a top-20 showing in the conference.
The Pennsylvania native scored a personal best in his final collegiate cross country 8K, topping his previous PR of 24:29 set two weeks ago in Gettysburg.
His finishing place is the second-best in program history, behind only the 14th place standing of Clay Peets last year who finished last year's championship meet with an All-Conference tally of 24:23.4 outside Dayton.
As a team, the Bonnies took 12th with 304 team points, beating out Richmond and VCU. Bona's team score of 304 is the best in program history at the A10 meet.
The Bonnies recorded an average top-five time of 25:19 and top-seven mark of 25:35.
Sophomore Brayden Frair made his A10 Championship debut by running 25:00.0, good for 55th in the conference.
Junior Nathan Sikorski jumped 18 spots in the finishing order from a season ago as he placed 68th with his effort of 25:13.5 – good for another Bonnies PR, beating his run of 25:19 posted at Gettysburg.
Senior William McCarthy was fourth in the Bonnies scoring as he clocked in at 25:51.6, 95th in the field.
From there, it was all underclassmen for the Bonnies.
Sophomore Alexander Rennick (26:10.1) moved up 17 spots at the finish line from last year's A10 Championships.
Freshman Tadios Eyasu recorded the top time at an A10 Championship meet by a first-year Bonnies runner in program history (26:10.1) as well, tying Rennick at the stripe. Classmate Mason Curl was just behind in his A10s debut at 26:14.4 while fellow frosh Grant Cornell (26:25.1) was in tow.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BOB MACFARLANE
"Today was another big step forward in the progression of our men's program. The guys delivered the best team score in program history, which is a tremendous accomplishment and a reflection of the work they've put in.
"When you look at the continued speed inflation across collegiate cross country, the progress becomes even more impressive. Our No. 1 runner clocked 24:19 today, a time that would have placed 12th at last year's championship. As a team, we lowered our average time from 25:53 last year to 25:18 this year — an improvement of 35 seconds per runner.
"The progression is real, and we're seeing the results of the commitment and consistency these guys have shown. We're extremely proud of how far this men's team has come, and we know there's still more ahead of us. We're excited to see our top six guys compete at the NCAA Regional Championship in two weeks and continue building on this momentum."
BONNIES RESULTS
21. Aiden Scattergood – 24:19.4 (PR)
55. Brayden Frair – 25:00.0
68. Nathan Sikorski – 25:13.5
95. William McCarthy – 25:51.6
107. Alexander Rennick – 26:10.1
107. Tadios Eyasu – 26:10.1
113. Mason Curl – 26:16.4
116. Grant Cornell – 26:25.1
118. Jack Handman – 26:35.2
121. Caleb Davis – 26:42.9
UP NEXT
Bona's regional qualifiers will finish the season at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship meet at Bethpage State Park on Long Island Friday, Nov. 13.
