Fighting fifth for Fagan in Indiana

MARTIN FAGAN defied unfavourable conditions to take fifth place at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Indiana.

The Mullingar runner, in his senior year at Providence College, Rhode Island, had won the Pre-National meet over the same trails in Terre Haute last month but found a softer track and high humidity not to his liking this time around.

Yet he still pulled out a 10-kilometre time of 31:01 on Monday to help the Providence men to a ninth-place team finish, completing a male and female top-10 double for Friars’ coach Ray Treacy.

“Two teams in the top 10. Not many teams can say that. We came in hoping to be in the top 10, and we did it in both,” said Treacy.

Providence’s women were led home by Yorkshire’s Aine Hoban, who finished seventh in the women’s 6km race in 21:05 as the team finished seventh overall.

Only Colorado, the men’s champions, Stanford, the women’s winners, Wisconsin and John McDonnell’s Arkansas matched the Providence double.

Treacy was still disappointed for Fagan, who had shown great form going into the race with victories in the Big East championship in Boston and the NCAA Northeast Regional in New York, leading to him being named the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Northeast Region Male Athlete of the Year at the weekend.

“The last mile, when the big move came, he couldn’t respond. On another day on another course, he could have run better, but so could have a lot of other guys,” said Treacy. “But Martin had a great end of the season.”

Also scoring for Providence were Dublin pair Richard Yeates and Breffini Twohig. Sophomore Yeates was their fourth man home in 107th place (32:40), while for the women, freshman Twohig completed the race in 93rd place with a time of 22:05.

Treacy’s fellow Irish coaches Mick Byrne and John McDonnell also enjoyed success in Terre Haute. Byrne’s Iona College men’s team finished third, with Meath’s Andrew Ledwith the Gael’s third scorer in 57th place, and McDonnell’s Arkansas claimed fifth place overall.

Both coaches had been named their region’s coaches of the year at the weekend.