HOUGHTON, N.Y. – RIT juniors Derick Koen and Evan Owens placed first and second, respectively, to lead the men's cross country team to first place at the Highlander Invitational, Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Koen crossed the finish line with a 25:25.6 clocking to win the individual championship for the second-straight year while also leading the Tigers to their second-consecutive team championship at the event.
• Owens also pulled away from the field to log a runner-up 25:36.0 clocking. 
• Senior Jeffrey Gibbs finished sixth overall with a time of 25:50.2,
• First-year Brandon Blandino (26:35.4) and sophomore Jackson Burger (26:41.6) placed back-to-back in 12th and 13th, respectively, to complete the top-five.
• First-year Nate Flaherty (26:47.2) and sophomore Steven McChesney (26:47.8) also registered top-20 finishes in 18th and 19th, respectively,
• The Tigers scored 34 points to best runner-up Lock Haven (40). Houghton placed third (64), followed by Brockport (109) and St. John Fisher (127) to round out the top-five teams.  

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT travels to Geneseo next Saturday (Oct. 19) to compete in the Mike Woods Invitational.