Sept. 28, 2008

Article courtesy of Embry-Riddle (Fla.) Sports Information Office

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Sophomore Sam Vazquez raced to his third consecutive first place finish as he led the Eagles to victory at the Florida State Invitational on Saturday, topping five NCAA DI and two NCAA DII programs along their way.

The Eagles had 43 points to take the title, topping NCAA DI institutions: Florida Southern (second, 77), North Florida (third, 78), Florida Atlantic (fifth, 121), South Florida (sixth, 131) and Florida Gulf Coast (seventh, 203). It was the first time the Eagles have won the FSU Invitational and is their fourth consecutive first place team finish of the year.

"We had an outstanding race," Head Coach Mike Rosolino said. "To go out and do what they did is a great milestone for our team, and shows that we are preparing well for the national championship race."

Vazquez recorded his second best time in his career at ERAU, finishing the 8K in 25:32.47. He led the pack of Eagles that for the first time in program history, all top-seven runners finished under 27 minutes.

Junior Nick Gehlsen finished the race three places behind and 17 seconds later than Vazquez, coming in fourth overall in a time of 25:49.39. Henry Melius also finished in the top-ten, crossing the finish line in 25:58.70 in eighth place. It was his career best time and the first time he had raced under 26 minutes.

Stuart Patterson ran his first event of the season after being sidelined due to injury in the earlier part of the season. He finished fourth for the Eagles, 12th overall, in a time of 26:15.30. Chris Chidgey, Greg Leonard and Patrick McCormack rounded out the Eagles top-seven. Chidgey finished 27th in a time of 26:51.66 with Leonard on his heels in 31st in 26:56.23. The time was Leonard's career personal best.

McCormack in his rookie year, with a time of 26:59.79, became one of the top-20 fastest runners in Embry-Riddle history, as he finished 34th.

Alex Frazier, Dustin Shiver, Richard Dudney, Laurent Williams adn Jonathon Brasch also raced for the Eagles, they came in 44th, 49th, 51sst, 53rd and 83rd, respectively. Shiver and Dudney also marked personal career bests.