From NYU Athletics

The New York University men's cross country team opened its 2014 season at the Saratoga Invitational, hosted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Saratoga Springs, NY, on Saturday, September 13.

The Violets took third in the team standings with a total of 83 points. St. Lawrence University won the 14-team competition with 39 points, Williams College placed second, accumulating 53 points.

"It was a good day for the team," said first-year Head Coach Will Boylan-Pett. "It's our first race. I'm new to the team. The athletes don't know me too well yet, so I just told them to stay controlled and not to do anything crazy. It was a great team effort".

NYU seniors Johnny Lake and Sebastian Oja both had strong season debuts, posting top-five finishes. Lake was runner-up in the 6k race with a time of 18:46, 10, finishing behind only Williams College's Cotton Colin. Oja finished fourth in 19:02.

"Johnny and Sebastian had a strong race. It's a good starting point for this season," Boylan-Pett added. "We will get to a higher speed in following races.".

Overall, 221 runners competed.

HIGHLIGHTS: 

- Violet junior Daniel Rieger, running in his first race for the Violets, took 23rd place (19:28).

- NYU's other scorers in the race were Dharan Kadiyala (19:34) and Max Mudd (19:35), who finished 30th and 31st, respectively.