TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College seniors Dillon Farrell and Alec Duncan earned spots on the 2014 Landmark All-Conference Men's Cross Country First Team at the conclusion of the Landmark Conference Championships this past Saturday.
Farrell garnered a First Team spot for the third straight year with a second place finish at the 2014 meet hosted by Goucher College. He finished the 8,000-meter course in 26:31.06. Farrell was the 2012 and 2013 Landmark Conference Runner of the Year after winning the individual title, and he was 19th at the championships as a freshman while recovering from an injury.
"Dillon's preferred racing style is to be aggressive early and often. For a number of reasons, we discussed holding back the first few kilometers of the race," stated Head Coach Jesse Baumann. "In hindsight, that strategy took him out of his comfort zone and probably doesn't play to his strengths. With that said, Dan Gresh is a great runner who ran really well on the toughest, hilliest segments in the last 4k of the course. He had a great race and deserved that win."
Duncan was sixth in the meet this past Saturday in a time of 27:07.83 as he ran his way onto the First Team for the fourth consecutive fall. Duncan was seventh in the championships in 2013, fifth in 2012 and sixth as a freshman when the Greyhounds hosted the meet in the snow at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus. That race in 2011 was shortened to approximately 7,200 meters after a large tree fell in the heavy, wet snow and blocked a portion of the course.
"Alec has been coming on strong ever since Paul Short about a month ago, so this was about what we hoped for," commented Baumann. "We discussed aiming for the top 7, and keying off of Susquehanna's top three, and E-Town's top two runners during the race, which is exactly what he did. He ran relaxed, let the race play out and waited to make some of his bigger moves towards the last 3k of the race. There really wasn't a lot else he could have improved on tactically in that race."
Moravian will be off this weekend before returning to compete at the 2014 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional being hosted by Dickinson College at Big Spring High School on November 15. Farrell has earned All-Region honors in each of his three seasons and is looking to secure a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III National Championships to be hosted by Wilmington College in Mason, Ohio on November 22.
