The St. Bonaventure men’s cross country team proved last Saturday it is no longer content with being the doormats of the Atlantic 10 conference. And the runners themselves have assured the days of looking up the standings at 13 other teams are numbered.
This past weekend was one of the best collective performances the team has had at the Atlantic 10 Championship in roughly a decade. On the surface, it was just another season where the Bonnies finished last among the 14 teams that competed. But dig a little deeper, and it’s clear the team showed significant improvement over year’s past.
Senior captain Will Delaney was the star that shined the brightest for the Bonnies in the 8k race. A little less than a month after setting the program record for the best 8k time in school history, the Summit, New Jersey native finished in 78th place, the highest finish a Bonnie has posted at an A10 Championship in the last 10 years.
It didn’t come easy for Delaney, though. After the initial 5k portion, he found himself in 94th place. He knew he had to kick it up a notch in what would be his final A10 meet. So, like any great captain, he drew inspiration from one of his passing teammates, freshman Darion Gregory, to help him gain 16 spots in the final 3,000 meters of the race.
“He passed me after the 5k and he was like, ‘Let’s go Will,’ and that kind of got my ass in gear,” said Delaney. “That just kind of made me step up, and I was like, ‘Alright…I gotta work,’ because…I’ve been working all season, and I don’t want to disappoint him as a captain.”
Delaney has seen his name climbing up the record books this season. Along with his performance last weekend and the 8k record he broke in October, he also holds the record for the fastest 5k time in school history. But if this program wants to continue the upward slope, Delaney knows that his name will have to start to fall down the list.
“I just want everybody to keep beating those records, and hopefully, in a few years, those records are gone,” said Delaney. “I hope that even though I’m setting them…I’d love to see my name knocked down. That just means the program is going in the right direction.”
Two other Bonnies finished behind Delaney. Nathan Prisella, a junior from Corning, New York, finished in 91st with a time of 27 minutes and 24.9 seconds. Crossing the finish line less than eight seconds later was Gregory, from Smethport, Pennsylvania, who finished in 93rd, posting a time of 27:32.6.
Between Delaney, Prisella and Gregory, the Bonnies had three top-100 finishers in the A10 Championship for the first time in at least a decade. If that’s not an indication that the program is beginning to establish a culture of excellence, then the recap that freshman Hayden Barry gave of his performance might show it.
“I’ve been top freshman the whole season and…I mean good job to Darion [Gregory], and I’m really happy for him, but I expect better of myself,” said Barry.
Barry posted the fourth-best time on the team and the second-best among the freshmen, coming in behind Gregory at 28:18.2. His 116th place finish is a modest one, especially for someone racing in the A10 Championship for the first time in his career. And while the team’s overall performance is Barry’s first priority, he knows that in order for the team to continue to improve, he needs to be better as well.
“I just have to train a lot harder than I have been. More hills for sure,” said Barry. “But just increasing that mileage and just really, really working hard this summer…I keep setting the standard higher for myself every race.”
When asked what he expected from the team next year, a confident Barry said, “I think we’re not going to get last at A10’s.”
Barry and Delaney will be two of seven Bonnies competing at the Northeast Regionals next Friday at the University at Buffalo. It will be the final meet of the season.
Tommy Valentine, Staff Writer
valenttr19@bonaventure.edu
