NEW YORK -- The Yale men's cross country team put in another strong performance on Friday to place fifth at the IC4A Championships. The Bulldogs went into the race with the goal of running together as a team and gradually moving up through the large field of 358 runners. The plan was well executed: Yale's five scorers had a spread of just 22 seconds, less than any of the other 30 teams in the race.   

First year Kenan Pala dipped under 25 minutes to lead the Bulldogs home in 34th place. Pala is trending upwards at the right time, with the Ivy League Heps Championships only two weeks away. Part of the reason for the Bulldogs choosing to race at the IC4As on Friday was to gain experience racing at Van Cortlandt Park, which is where both Heps and the NCAA Northeast Regionals will be later this year. The IC4A Cross Country Championships also represents a race full of history. The first race was held in 1908 and Friday represented the 113th edition. Previous winners include Olympians such as Cornell's John Paul Jones (fourth in the 1500m in 1972) and Penn State's Curtis Stone (competed in the 5000m in 1948, 1952 and 1956). Pala was close to an All-IC4A finish today, but will have his chance at All-Ivy in two weeks time.

Junior Stephen Moody and sophomore Calvin Katz were hot on Pala's heels, placing 38th and 40th respectively. Like Pala, they're gaining fitness at the right time. First year Owen Karas and sophomore Winslow Atkeson were separated by just 1.4 seconds as they rounded out the scoring team in 45th and 48th. Close behind them were Martin Riddell, Elon Abergel and Ryan Smithers, who'd worked well with Atkeson throughout the race before he unleashed a ferocious finish to move up 19 places in the final 2.5k. Karas, Riddell and Smithers all displayed remarkable consistency to back up strong recent performances at the Battle in Beantown and the Paul Short Invitational. For Abergel, this was a strong season opener after battling injury through the early part of the academic year. Jack Sendek and Liam Garrett also ran well to round out the finishers for Yale.

Next up for the Bulldogs is the CCSU Mini Meet on Friday 21. October, before the highlight of the season - Heps - the following week. Results from Friday's race can be found here.