Nick Lyndaker's historic fourth-place finish at the Conn College Invitational helped the St. Lawrence University men's cross country team achieve an eighth place finish among a field of 35 teams. Five Saints finished in the top 100 of the formidable event's final standings in a strong showing ahead of the post season.

Lyndaker's time of 24:20.0 at the eight-kilometer race is the fastest time recorded by a Saint since 2011, and is the fastest time on record for any St. Lawrence men's cross country runner at a non-NCAA event.

"We took a big step forward today and have a much better idea of how we stack up versus the top teams in our region and the East Region," said John Newman, the Saints' head coach. "The guys had a galvanizing team effort which helped put them right in the mix of a very competitive field.  I'm so proud of all the guys and how they continue get better every week and develop as a team."
 
"There were eight nationally-ranked teams and almost the entire field consisted of regional top 10 teams. Our team goal was top 10 in the blue race and we thought we might have a shot at a top eight finish based on our recent trajectory.  So to hit our goal and our team targets made for a very rewarding day. Nick ran another exceptional race among some of the nations top individual contenders."

Lyndaker began the race in 18^th place at the first mile, before ascending up the leaderboard for the second half. The Canton, N.Y. native advanced as high as third place at the three-mile marker of the race, and kept pace with the leaders until the final stage. It was a personal-best run for Lyndaker.

Patrick Russell had the next highest Saints finish, as he placed 57^th overall in the large field and broke his own personal-best record with a time of 25:20.4.

Matthew Taylor and Griffin Roeder each also broke the top-100 while beating their lifetime bests in the process – with Taylor running eight kilometers in 25:34.4 and Roeder crossing the line with 25:51.9.

The Saints now gear up to return to the Ronald C. Hoffmann Cross Country Course for the Liberty League Championships on home turf Saturday, November 2.

St. Lawrence Top Seven
4. Nicholas Lyndaker – 24:20.0
57. Patrick Russell – 25:20.4
67. Matthew Taylor – 25:34.4
78. Matt Serrano – 25:45.9
84. Griffin Roeder – 25:51.9
122. Colin Young – 26:19.1
141. Timothy Boyce – 26:35.9