Complete Results

SEATTLE, Wash.--In a field that included nine nationally-ranked teams and some of the top runners in the country, sophomore Patrick Tiernan (Toowoomba, Australia) pulled away to a dominant victory in the Washington Invitational at Jefferson Park Golf Course on Saturday morning. Tiernan crossed the finish line of the 8,000 meter course with a sizzling time of 23 minutes flat and outkicked the rest of the field of 96 runners by 20 seconds. Villanova finished seventh in the team standings at the invitation-only meet, which featured five teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation.

Tiernan's previous top time for an 8,000 meter cross country course was 23:50 at the Princeton Invitational last season. He easily shattered that mark on the mostly flat Jefferson Park course and he emerged as the individual champion of a meet for the fourth time in nine collegiate starts. This is also the eighth straight meet dating back to last season in which Tiernan has been the Wildcats top finisher. Futsum Zienasellassie from Northern Arizona was second to Tiernan at the finish line with a time of 23:20.

Villanova finished with a team score of 153 points in the 11-team meet. The seventh place finish for the Wildcats was an impressive one considering the strength of the field and also that Villanova split its own team between two different meets. Northern Arizona, ranked No. 2 in the last United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll, won the team title with 62 points.

The rest of the team scores included No. 20 UCLA (72), No. 6 Stanford (92), No. 13 Virginia (112), No. 26 Oklahoma (129) and No. 28 Washington (152) finishing in the top six spots. The teams finishing behind the Wildcats were No. 7 Indiana (157), No. 5 Portland (204), Wyoming (258) and Idaho (305).

Each of the first three Villanova runners to cross the finish line recorded personal best times. Senior Brian Basili (South Orange, N.J.) came in 22nd overall with a time of 24:00 and eclipsed his previous top time for an 8,000 meter course by six seconds. Sophomore Harry Warnick (Fairfield, Conn.) came in 28th and his time of 24:08 surpassed his previous personal best by 18 seconds.

The final two scoring runners for the Wildcats were sophomore Kevin Corbusier (Monkton, Md.) in 46th place (24:31) and junior Robert Hurlbut (Rochester, N.Y.) in 60th place (24:57). Senior Chris O'Sullivan (Havertown, Pa.) and junior Tom Trainer (Havertown, Pa.) came in 80th (25:30) and 84th (25:39), respectively.

Earlier in the day on Saturday, a contingent of Villanova runners competed at the Paul Short Run and registered a 13th place finish in the team standings of the Men's Gold race. Next up on the schedule for the Wildcats is the Princeton Invitational on October 18.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS
Washington Invitational (7th of 11)
8000 Meters