By: Scott Eddy, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications
BUFFALO – A returning face and a new one gave the Bonnies men's cross country team a 1-2 finish at Saturday's Little Three Championship as fifth-year Bona's runner Aiden Scattergood returned from a season away from competition by dominating the race while sophomore transfer Brayden Frair placed second.
As a team, the Bonnies took the runner-up spot with 33 points, just behind the winning mark of 26 team points posted by host Canisius at Delaware Park. Niagara finished third at 85 points.
Scattergood, who missed last season due to injury, showed no signs of rust as he created separation down the stretch and pulled away for a victorious time of 15:07, over 14 seconds ahead of his new teammate.
The Ambler, Pa. native scored his second collegiate victory and finished one spot better than his runner-up effort at the 2024 Little Three Championship. He led the Bonnies in all but one meet in his last cross country season and picked up where he left off Saturday, racing neck-and-neck with Frair for over the first half of the event before making the race his own.
Frair made a splash in his first Division I event after an outstanding freshman campaign where he won Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Cross Country Freshman of the Year honors while at Lock Haven.
The Bradford, Pa. native clocked in at 15:21.9 as the Bonnies duo set the pace. Frair was eight seconds clear of third-place Fenway Breckels of Canisius.
The Golden Griffs were able to push ahead to the title by taking the third, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth and 10th finishing positions. Bonnies senior William McCarthy was able to break up the Griffs pack somewhat as he finished eighth at 15:45.6.
Much of Bona's top-seven was tightly packed in a close battle to determine the team title. Canisius was able to claim another scoring position in 10th at 16:06.2, just ahead of a Bonnies group led by sophomore Alexander Rennick at 16:07.4.
Next in line were freshman Caleb Davis who debuted with a run of 16:08.0, just in front of junior Nathan Sikorski (16:08.3) and freshmen Tadios Eyasu (16:10.0) and Jake Schonhoff (16:18.5).
Scattergood jumped to second in the program 5K record books, besting his previous PR of 15:30.2 set in his sophomore season on the same Delaware Park layout. Frair, meanwhile, slots fourth in the new-look records list for Bonnies history.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BOB MACFARLANE
"Aiden and Brayden gave us an outstanding 1-2 finish at the front of the field, but despite owning the first two spots, the team championship demonstrated just how important pack running is in cross country. Canisius' ability to pack runners together proved to be the difference in the team scoring.
"There is an important lesson for us to take from this race. Having two runners at the very front is a tremendous advantage, but to consistently win championship meets, we need to tighten the gap behind them. Our fourth and fifth runners need to move closer to our No. 3 runner and create a stronger scoring pack. That is something we will focus on as we move forward. We have the talent and now we need to continue developing the strategy, confidence and ability to race together as a group.
"There were plenty of positives to take away from Delaware Park, particularly an outstanding 1-2 finish and two performances that earned places in the St. Bonaventure record book. At the same time, this race gave us a valuable lesson about what it will take to become a stronger championship team."
BONNIES RESULTS
1. Aiden Scattergood – 15:07.0
2. Brayden Frair – 15:21.9
8. William McCarthy – 15:45.6
13. Alexander Rennick – 16:07.4
14. Caleb Davis – 16:08.0
15. Nathan Sikorski – 16:08.3
16. Tadios Eyasu – 16:10.0
18. Jake Schonhoff – 16:18.5
19. Mason Curl – 16:20.7
20. Jack Handman – 16:21.3
21. Grant Cornell – 16:28.2
22. Declan McGrath – 16:32.8
24. Nate Viele – 16:35.6
25. Joshua Lopez – 16:40.7
26. Layne Haught – 16:42.4
27. Lucas Catarella – 16:42.7
28. Kevin Renner – 16:53.4
29. Aiden Konetsky – 17:00.4
30. Carter Stevens – 17:04.7
33. Ethan Shepherd – 17:12.1
38. Sam Duffy – 17:24.9
44. Blake Wenger – 18:14.5
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure will next compete at the Colonial Invitational hosted by Robert Morris in Clinton, Pa. on Friday, Sept. 11.
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