Rowan senior Kevin Veltre, a Brick Memorial graduate, was first across the line Saturday in the Mike Woods Invitational, covering the 8,000-meter course in 24:44 and finishing a full 17 seconds ahead of the field.
SUNY Geneseo, ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division 3, finished with a 35-81 win over Rowan but averaged only 18 seconds per runner faster than the Profs, who had four sophomores and a junior in the top 50.
The race was held near the SUNY Geneseo campus in Letchworth State Park in Mount Morris, N.Y.
Veltre finished 90 meters ahead of Sean McAneny of Geneseo, who was second in 25:01.
Also for the Profs, junior Dan “Fitch” Henry (Clearview) placed 11th in 25:32, sophomore Matt Russo (Westfield) 17th in 25:44, senior Nick Nocco (Southern Regional) 28th in 26:01 and Jose Figueroa (Highland) 36th in 26:12. That scoring group was backed up by senior Alec Trapani (South Brunswick) in 38th (26:13), sophomore Jason Muermann (Pitman) in 43rd (26:18) and sophomore Dylan Tyrrell (St. Joe’s-Metuchen) in 46th (26:20).
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 