From NYU Athletics

The New York University's men's cross country team finished in third place at the NCAA Niagara Regional in Rochester, New York, on Saturday.

The Violets missed an automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III National Championship on November 19 in Lansing, MI, as SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport finished first and second with 41 and 77 points, respectively, to NYU's 114. However, the Violets could be considered for an at-large selection. 

Ryan Tobin, who qualifies as an individual for the NCAA Championship, was the first Violet to cross the finish line, placing third in a time of 25:20.9.

"A great performance by Ryan who now goes to the NCAA's for the second year in a row," explained Head Coach Tyler Deck Shipley.

NYU had two more top-20 finishers, as Aidin Hasan placed 17th in 26:00.9 and Nicholas Ankuta was 19th in 26:12.5. 

Shaurya Srivastava edged out Andrew Taylor by less than a second to round out NYU's scorers, taping 26:40.6 in 37th place while Taylor recorded a time of 26:41.5 and finished 38th. 

Overall, 24 teams and 172 runners competed in the 8k race, which was held at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester.

"This was a great improvement over our eighth-place finish last year," Deck Shipley said. "I think we've demonstrated that we are a team that can compete at a high level."