MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Sixth Annual Lt. Travis J. Fuller Invitational

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Buzzards Bay, Mass.

FINAL MEN’S TEAM SCORES                                      TOP 10 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS            

1. Emmanuel                     31                                 1.  Abdihakim Ibrahim, Emmanuel          25:35
2. Emerson                       66                                 2.  Brent Schouler, Mass. Maritime         26:48
3. Merchant Marine            67                                 3.  Stephen Armstrong, Emmanuel         26:50
4. New York Maritime        90                                 4.  Kyle Oppenheimer, Emerson             26:58
5. Massachusetts Maritime            107                               5.  Brendan Stackhouse, Emerson         27:11
6. UMass Boston              180                               6.  Luke Milano, New York Maritime        27:12
7. Suffolk                         207                               7.  Maurizio Turco, Emmanuel                27:15
8. Mount Ida                     209                               8.  Ross Whepley, Merchant Marine        27:21

9.  Michael Morris, Emmanuel                27:26

10. Thomas Fossa, Merchant Marine      27:30

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Junior Abdihakim Ibrahim’s (East Boston, Mass.) course record pace of 25:35 led Emmanuel to the team championship of the Sixth Annual Massachusetts Maritime Lt. Travis J. Fuller Men’s Cross Country Invitational Saturday morning alongside Cape Cod Canal on campus.

The Saints placed their top five finishers in the top 11 to post a team score of 31 points in the competition, outdistancing runner-up Emerson and third-place Merchant Marine’s totals of 66 and 67 points, respectively.  New York Maritime and Massachusetts Maritime placed fourth and fifth, respectively, with team scores of 90 and 107 points, while UMass Boston (180 points), Suffolk (207 points) and Mount Ida (209 points) rounded out the team scoring.

Ibrahim finished a full 1:13 ahead of Massachusetts Maritime freshman Brent Schouler (Hyannis, Mass.) in the individual competition over the five mile layout, as Schouler posted a freshman record time of 26:48.  Juniors Stephen Armstrong (Revere, Mass.) and Maurizio Turco (Revere, Mass.), along with freshman Michael Morris (Stoughton, Mass.), placed third, seventh and ninth, respectively, for Emmanuel, while sophomore Kyle Oppenheimer (Kingston, N.H.) and freshman Brendan Stackhouse (Wolfeboro, N.H.) finished fourth and fifth for Emerson, respectively.  Sophomore Luke Milano (Wantagh, N.Y.) recorded a sixth place individual effort for New York Maritime, while the Merchant Marine tandem of juniors Ross Whepley (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) and Thomas Fossa (Fleming Island, Fla.) rounded out the top 10 by finishing eighth and 10^th, respectively, in the competition.

Senior Patrick Dannaher (Arlington, Va.) finished 12^th on the day for the host Buccaneers with a time of 27:33, while freshman Kevin Griffin (Stoneham, Mass.) and senior Paul Matz (Plainville, Mass.) placed 27^th and 30th, respectively, with times of 29:04 and 29:19.  Sophomore Evan Balderelli (Brimfield, Mass.) rounded out the Massachusetts Maritime scoring by placing 53^rd overall with a time of 32:14.

The Buccaneers return to action next Saturday morning by heading to North Dartmouth, Mass. to participate in the UMass Dartmouth Buddy Harris Invitational that begins at 11:15 a.m.