Men's Cross Country | October 30, 2021

CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The combined performance of Taonga Mbambo, Ibrahim Kedir, Luke Jaciw-Zurakowsky, Ryan James and James Ptack at the Atlantic 10 Championships pushed the La Salle men's cross country team to victory as the program claimed its 11^th Atlantic 10 title on Saturday, Oct. 30.

The Explorers clocked in an average time of 25:10.14 in the 8K finishing with a team score of 53 points. La Salle led runner-up Saint Louis by nearly 40 points.

Mbambo, Kedir, Jaciw-Zurakowsky and James all placed in the top 15 to earn all-conference honors. Head Coach Tom Peterson brought home the Men's Coach of the Year Award.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Taonga Mbambo and Ibrahim Kedir led the charge for the Explorers Mbambo recorded 18:40.9 at the 6K split and crossed the line at 24:55.0 to push himself into fourth-place. Kedir followed close behind in sixth with a time of 24:57.5.
• Luke Jaciw-Zurakowsky and Ryan James crossed the line back-to-back in 13^th and 14^th, respectively. Jaciw-Zurakowsky clocked in at 25:17.3 and James at 25.18.1.
• James Ptack rounded out the top scorers for La Salle with a final time of 25:22.8 for 16^th place.
• Andres Hernandez made his first appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championships and landed in the top 50 clocking in at 25:44.2.
• Matt Bridger, Alex Sandras and Liam Rivard all placed in the top 100. Bridger placed 53^rd with a time of 26:02.5 while Sandras and Rivard recorded times of 26:2.3 (70^th) and 26:52.4 (92^nd), respectively.
• Adam Bridger rounded out the lineup for the Explorers clocking in at 20:41.8 at the 6K split and moving up three spots in the final stretch for a final time of 27:34.1.