SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Time to add to the trophy case! The No. 11 Monarchs captured their third consecutive MCCAA Eastern Conference Championship on Friday (Oct. 2) after posting a team score of 17 at Eastwood Beach inside Stony Creek Metropark. The men's performance wrapped up a sweep for the Monarchs as the No. 6 Macomb women also secured their third straight conference title Friday afternoon.
On the men's side, the Blue and White's 17 points saw them cruise to victory. St. Clair County Community College was second in the team standings with 48 points while Oakland Community College was third with 65 points.
A dominant effort by head coach Matt Fecht's team was highlighted by a 1-2-3-4 individual finish, just missing out on a perfect score of 15, but putting all five scoring runners inside the top seven. Michael Nivala Jr. led the way in the 8K race with a time of 26:17.8. The reigning NJCAA National Runner of the Week earned All-Eastern Conference honors and was also named MCCAA Eastern Conference Runner of the Year after crossing the finish line ahead of all competition on Friday.
Jacob Kosidlo was second in 26:20.3 to earn All-Eastern Conference honors for the second straight year. Last year's MCCAA Eastern Conference Runner of the Year, Kosidlo waved Nivala ahead to finish first, a gesture many were lucky to witness along the finishing chute. John Blaskowski crossed the line in third place with a personal best time of 26:25.5. Blaskowski was the top freshman in the field and went on to earn All-Conference and All-Freshman Team honors.
Dylan Penberthy finished fourth with a season best time of 26:28.8, earning MCCAA All-East honors in the process. Mario Carducci wrapped up the scoring for the Monarchs in seventh place, running 27:03.1 and earning All-Eastern Conference and All-Freshman honors.
The top 14 individuals earned an All-Conference award while the top six freshmen were named to the MCCAA East All-Freshmen team.
After the scoring was finished for the Monarchs, strong performances continued to roll in as
Chris Sayers checked in 14th to secure the final All-Conference spot at 28:08.1, while
Henry Terrien was 15th at 28:15.5.
Noah Nasceif checked in 20th with a time of 28:58.3,
Seamus Murphy was 22nd at 29:44.6 and
Daryl Winters III was 25th with a time of 31:37.7.
Macomb now has two meets remaining in the regular season. The Monarchs will compete at the Lucian Rosa Invite next Saturday (Oct. 10). The event will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisc. and is set to begin at 11 a.m.
