HPU Men’s Cross Country Finishes 15th At NCAA Regional

• Redshirt-senior Jeff LaCoste led HPU with a 64th-place finish amongst the 223 runner field (31:16.50)
• Senior Paddy Grandinali placed 77th (31:30.40) and freshman Alejandro Torres was 80th (31:35.80)
• HPU distance runners now shift focus to indoor track & field season, which begins Dec. 5 in Winston-Salem

EARLYSVILLE, Va. – The High Point University men’s cross country team placed 15th out of 32 teams at the NCAA Southeast Regional Friday afternoon at Panorama Farms.

HPU posted a total of 431 points and finished ahead of Appalachian State, Clemson, Richmond and Wake Forest, among others. Louisville won the meet with 77 points and will automatically advance to the NCAA Championship along with second-place finisher, No. 12 Virginia (96). No. 26 Eastern Kentucky was third (113), followed by No. 13 Furman (133) and No. 10 NC State (148).

“I want to thank our group of cross country seniors for their dedication to our program,” head coach Mike Esposito said. “They have made such a strong impact during their time at HPU. It was encouraging to see Jeff [LaCoste] close well today, I think he’s on his way back and will help us a lot during the track season. I’m looking forward to seeing what our distance men can do to help our team score well during the indoor season.”

Redshirt-senior Jeff LaCoste led the Panthers for the second-straight year at NCAA Regionals, placing 64th in a time of 31:16.50 He improved eight spots during a strong final 2k of action to earn the finish. It marked the first time LaCoste, a two-time USTFCCCA All-Region selection, led the Panthers in 2015, and the talented senior will use the momentum heading into the indoor track & field season.

Senior Paddy Grandinali finished 77th in 31:30.40 while freshman Alejandro Torres earned an 80th-place showing in 31:35.80.

Sophomore Ryan Udvadia improved upon his 2014 NCAA Regional showing by 77 spots while placing 99th in a personal-best 10k time of 31:51.80. His mark this season was more than two minutes faster than his regional time in 2014. The Shoreham, N.Y., native used his trademark kick to improve his standing Friday by 19 positions in the final 2k of the race.

Junior Vinny Todaro finished 120th in a time of 32:18.30, while junior Chernet Sisay placed 142nd at Panorama Farms in a time of 32.43.70.

Senior Benji Szalai rounded out the HPU contingent with a 162nd place finish (33:01.30).

HPU has completed its 2015 cross country slate and now moves into the 2015-16 indoor track & field season. That campaign gets underway Dec. 5 at the JDL College Kickoff Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C.