TOWSON, Md. --- The 2016-17 season marks the 10th year anniversary for the Landmark Conference. To help celebrate, the Landmark is featuring individuals that have stood out over the past 10 years.
Athletes that were named All-Conference First Team a minimum of two times, and/or were named Landmark Player of the Year, during their career were nominated automatically, and each team had the opportunity to nominate additional individuals for consideration. The All-Decade team was selected by the membership and is being announced prior to the conference championship.
Moravian had two student-athletes, Matt Lutcza from the class of 2012 and Dillon Farrell of the class of 2015, selected to the Men's Cross Country All-Decade Team.
Lutcza was a member of the Greyhound team from 2008-2011. He placed first at the Landmark Championships in 2010, earning him Performer of Year. He followed that up with a second place finish in 2011. Lutcza was named to the Landmark Academic Team from 2009-2011 and was named to the Academic Honor Roll Team during that same span.
"There isn't a month that goes by where I don't tell a recruit or current athlete about Matt Lutcza because he epitomizes what Division III athletics is about," commented Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Jesse Baumann. "He wasn't a highly decorated recruit coming out of high school, his PRs and accomplishments didn't stand out relative to what he'd become in college. As I tell so many people, he made the choice to make himself a great runner here, committing to mileage, training, and the lifestyle of a runner. He made XC NCAAs in 2010 and nearly qualified for the 5K a few times, dropping his PRs as much as any runner we've ever had here. He ran best when it counted the most."
Farrell competed for the Greyhounds from 2011-2014. He was a two-time Landmark Performer of the Year (2012, 2013), and a three-time all-conference selection. Farrell became the first male in Moravian history to earn All-America honors (2014), and was named to the Landmark Academic Honor Roll in the three years he was eligible.
"Dillon was tremendous for us at the conference level and on a number of occasions secured a team title with his races in the 3K or 5K late in the meet," stated Baumann. "Starting late in his sophomore year of cross country we added qualifying for NCAAs and All American accolades to the list of goals, and he certainly had the fitness and talent to achieve that, but it seemed injuries and illnesses kept coming up at inopportune times. He had mono mid-season as a freshman, hurt his hamstring the week of NCAAs as a sophomore, and had asthma issues as a junior at NCAAs. It was what made him earning All American in Ohio as a senior so much more special. It was never a straight trajectory or easy journey, it was a process which made that race so much more gratifying to cap off a great career."
To view the entire Landmark Conference Men's Cross Country Team, visit http://landmarkconference.org/sports/xc/2016-17/releases/10252016mxcalldecade.
Parts of release courtesy of Landmark Conference
