VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (November 8, 2019) – History was made by the SUNY Delhi men's cross country team Friday at the USCAA National Championships, achieving the program's second run of four straight national titles by winning their fourth consecutive USCAA Championship. Abshir Yerow also reached a milestone with his first individual national crown with a time of 25:38.14, establishing Delhi's third straight year with a USCAA Individual Champion. Four Broncos earned First Team All-American status, while two more placed on the Second Team, as the men finished with 28 points.
Senior Lucas Reilly added to the history-making day, first by earning his third straight First Team All-American finish with a third-place time of 26:36.15, then becoming the first Bronco to run on four national championship teams. Freshman Seth Bywater took First Team in his first USCAA race, taking sixth at 27:07.99, while sophomore Bladimir Pena placed seventh for First Team honors with a time of 27:09.77. The freshmen accounted for both of Delhi's Second Team finishes, as Aaron Vivlamore took 11th at 27:23.40 and Aidan Cutting 14th at 27:35.16. Jack Hopkins finished 25th at 28:13.03, while Anthony Cuchel placed 37th at 29:06.22. Ted Oster wrapped up his Broncos career in 44th place at 29:25.40.
"I had the men as third place at the 4K mark behind SUNY ESF and Penn State Fayette," said head coach Robb Munro. "Abshir and Lucas did their jobs up front and Bywater, Pena, Vivlamore and Cutting ran great second halves to take over the race. I am very happy for Abshir. He has been such a great addition to the program. He is a hard worker and a great teammate and he earned this day in every way a coach can ask of an athlete! And I couldn't be more proud of Lucas finishing his career as the first Delhi runner to run on four National Championship cross country teams."
Yerow's national-championship performance marks his second straight year as a USCAA First Team All-American after placing second in 2018. Hopkins and Oster each ran in their third USCAA race Friday. Oster finished on the Second Team last year with a ninth-place mark. The Broncos achieved their first run of four or more straight national championships since the program ran away with seven straight NJCAA Men's Cross Country national titles from 2004 to 2010.
Coach Munro's men cap off their 2019 season with both a national and conference title, having won their first-ever North Atlantic Conference (NAC) championship on Saturday for their fourth straight NCAA league title. Yerow was a USCAA Runner of the Week choice and a three-time NAC Runner of the Week recipient. Bywater won one USCAA Runner of the Week and two NAC Rookie of the Week awards.
