WESTFIELD, MA – Saint Joseph's College placed 39th out of 50 participating institutions with 1288 points in the 2012 NCAA Division III New England Men's Cross Country Regional at Stanley Park on Saturday. Sophomore Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) paced the Monks and placed 169th out of 351 runners with a 28:12.14 performance in the 8K event.

Middlebury College placed five runners in the top 26 overall and tallied 91 points to claim the team championship. Bowdoin College finished as the runner-up with 101 points and was followed by Bates College (105), Williams College (113) and Tufts University (114). The top two teams automatically advance to the NCAA DIII National Championship, which takes place in Terre Haute, Indiana next Saturday, while the other three squads are strong contenders to earn national berths.

The top three individual slots were decided in a matter of only two-tenths of a second. Bowdoin junior Coby Horowitz claimed top individual honors with a 24:51.36 effort, barely ahead of teammate Samuel Seekins, who was just .09 seconds off the pace, while Middlebury senior Jack Davies finished in a close third with a 24:51.56 performance. Connecticut College junior Michael LeDuc placed fourth with a 24:57.77 time and Springfield College senior Anthony Salvucci rounded out the top five runners after touring the 8K course in 24:58.92.

Nate Sans and Patrick Hebble placed 18th and 19th, respectively, for Middlebury, while their teammates Kevin Wood (25th) and Greg Krathwohol (26th) rounded out the scoring and earned All-New England honors by placing in the top 35.

Middlebury's depth up front was the key as Bowdoin's third thru fifth runners finished 20th, 37th, and 41st. Bates placed four runners in the top 23 and five in the top 32 but its top individual was Mike Martin, who placed 12th in 25:11.21.

For the Monks, junior Faisal Abdillahi (Lewiston, Maine) finished 251st (30:09.17), freshman Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine) was 281st (31:14.41), freshman Taidghe Hagan (Reading, Mass.) placed 305th (32:10.79), sophomore Jeff Merrill (Fitchburg, Mass.) raced to a 317th-place (32:40.78) finish, and freshman Billy Brooks (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) registered a 33:11.98 effort to place 328th.

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.