2010 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championship Results

New York University posted its fifth-straight top-20 national finish after claiming 10th place at the 2010 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship race at the Max Cross Country Course in Waverly, IA, on Saturday, November 20.

The Violets, ranked #10 in the nation heading into the race by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), finished 10th in the 32-team field with a 314-point total.

Haverford College, ranked #2 coming in, edged top-ranked North Central University 87-104 to capture the National Championship.

NYU finished ahead of University Athletic Association (UAA) rivals Brandeis University (16th place, 421 points), University of Rochester (17th place, 482 points) and Carnegie Mellon University (20th place, 505 points), while being nipped by UAA Champion Washington University (9th place, 297 points).

"We could've finished a bit higher, although it wasn't a horrible day," said NYU head coach Nick McDonough.  "We just needed a couple of guys to run a little bit better."  

The Violets' top finisher in the race was Andrew Zitek, who traversed the 8,000-meter course in a time of 24:57.9.  He placed just ahead of teammate Sebastian Schwelm, who posted a time of 24:59.4.  The duo finished 36th and 37th overall, respectively, in the 279-person race.

Third across the line for NYU was Ryan Boyd.  He finished 65th in a time of 25:15.3.  

The Violets' other two scorers were Matt Turlip (113th place, 25:31.8) and Kevin Bonilla (163rd place, 25:51.9).

Also competing for NYU on Saturday were David Knowles (26:23.0) and Kyle De Leon (26:31.4).

NYU finished fourth last year and 12th in 2008.

The Violets captured the National Championship in 2007 following a runner-up finish in 2006.  

"Overall, we've established a good building block for the future," McDonough concluded.  "Five of the seven who ran for us today will be back next season and that's pretty encouraging."