STANDISH, ME - Headed by second year coach Ray Putnam, the SJC cross-country squad looked ahead to their opening meet at the University of New England on the first of September. Despite only two of the top ten runners representing SJC, the Monks were pleased with the performance of junior captain Faisal Abdillahi (Lewiston, Maine), who clocked in at 23:07 and paced the Monks with a fifth-place finish. Taidghe Hagan (Reading, Mass.) of SJC was the other top-ten finisher, completing the race at a 23:40 clip, good enough for ninth place. The Monks were defeated by the Nor'easters, 16-47.
Despite the early loss, the Monks roared back with a 179-point effort in the UNE Invitational, good enough for fifth-place finish out of the 13 squads competing. Sophomore Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) paved the way for the Runnin' Monks, posting a 30:54 time at the race's end and finishing 19th out of the 104 athletes running in the race.
After a 79 point, third-place finish at the Keene State Invitational, the Monks hosted their annual Runnin' Monks Invitational, where the Monks finished fourth out of the 11 teams competing. The show was stolen by DiSalvo, who registered his first career individual NCAA victory with a 29:24 effort in the 8K race, narrowly beating out Thomas Grylka of Presque Isle. Adbillahi finished eighth out of the 82 runners with a 30:38 time, and Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine) rounded Saint Joe's top three with a 32:31, 20th place finish. DiSalvo's victory snapped the individual winless drought for SJC, who hadn't had an individual runner win a race since Ryan Prescott accomplished the feat in 2009—also at the Runnin' Monks Invitational.
After a solid sixth-place finish at the Maine State Championship, the Monks turned their attention to the GNAC Championship in Nashua, N.H., where the Monks looked to build upon their fifth-place finish from the previous year.
In spite of the strong efforts of Abdaillahi and DiSalvo, the Monks were only able to muster a sixth-place finish, concluding the race with 148 points. Sam Dunay (Groton, Conn.), Jeff Merrill (Fitchburg, Mass.), Billy Brooks (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), Bryndon Page (Windham, Maine), and Mark McCarraher (Franklin, Mass.) rounded out the competing field for the Monks.
After a 41st place finish at the ECAC New England Championship in Williamstown, Mass., the Monks looked ahead to their final meet of the year; the NCAA New England Regional Championship in Westfield, Mass. DiSalvo led the way for SJC, finishing 169th out of the 351-runner field with a 28:12.14 time. Abdillahi and Caron rounded out the top three for Saint Joseph's, which finished 39th out of the 50 teams competing in the race to conclude the season.
Matthew Boucher (Augusta, Maine) and DiSalvo were both named GNAC All-Academic athletes at season's end.
WRITTEN BY JACK HOLLY '14
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
