AMBLER, Pa.—Sophomore Marco Langon (Raritan, N.J.) led a 1-2-3 sweep by Villanova and was the individual champion at the Temple Owls Cross Country Invitational on Friday evening. Langon, fifth year Haftu Strintzos (Melbourne, Australia) and senior Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) finished in a pack in the 6,000 meter race held on the Ambler satellite campus as the Wildcats opened the 2023 season with a local meet. Villanova had a team score of 21 points to beat out the host Owls and La Salle.
 
Friday's meet was the first cross country event to be held at the Ambler athletic complex which is home to several fields and other facilities. Eight runners were in action for the Wildcats as the team starts its preparations for the bulk of the season schedule yet to come. Earlier this week Villanova was ranked first in the Mid-Atlantic Region and came in at No. 12 in the preseason national rankings released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 
Langon covered the 6K course in 19:23.2 and was followed closely by Strintzos (19:23.3) and Murphy (19:23.4) in a strong showing for three of the veteran performers on the Wildcats roster. The trio formed part of a strong core in the Villanova lineup last season when the team won an NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional title and tallied the Wildcats best finish at the NCAA Championships (19^th) in eight years. Villanova's top three came in just ahead of the first runner from Temple who placed fourth in Friday's race in 19:23.5.
 
Junior Cole Walker (Chadds Ford, Pa.) came in sixth overall with a time of 19:42.9 and was followed by three more Wildcats who placed consecutively from ninth through 11^th in the race. Junior Sean Donoghue (Dublin, Ireland) finished ninth in 19:51.4, while sophomore Jack Tavaglione (Califon, N.J.) was 10^th (19:51.5) and junior Devon Comber (Ambler, Pa.) placed 11^th (19:51.). Rounding out the Villanova lineup was sixth year Jack Fredian (Arlington Heights, Ill.) who came in 15^th with a time of 19:58.6.
 
The final team scores had the Wildcats with 21 points, followed by Temple (42) and La Salle (75).
 
Villanova will next be in action when it competes in a four-mile race at the Main Line Invitational on September 15.