Men's Cross Country Looks To Run Away With Second MASCAC Crown In Five Seasons This Fall

Depth and experience will be a solid combination for the Massachusetts Maritime men's cross country team in 2009, as veteran Head Coach Chris Ryan welcomes back eight letterwinners that he will look to blend with five talented newcomers in preparation for another run at the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference crown.

Ryan, a two-time Conference Coach of the Year selection who guided the Bucs to the league title in 2005, will look to leadership from a trio of senior captains in Ben Mandelbaum (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant), Jason McWhirter (Melvin Village, N.H.) and Matt Sturgis (Cummaquid, Mass.).  Ryan describes this trio as "solid representatives of the program and the Academy who will provide a path of hard work for us to reach our goals this season."

Mandelbaum, McWhirter and Sturgis are part of an experienced group of upperclassmen that are back in the Bucs' fold this fall, and that group includes juniors Patrick Dannaher (Arlington, Va./Trinity), Brian Maniglia (Pennsville, N.J./Pennsville Memorial) and Paul Matz (Plainville, Mass./King Philip).  Coupled with sophomores Nicholas Fenton (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) and Jonathan Quigley (Braintree, Mass./Archbishop Williams), Ryan will have a bevy of talent that is set to challenge for the program's second conference championship in five years.

Massachusetts Maritime welcomes five freshmen to the program in 2009, as newcomers Evan Balderelli (Brimfield, Mass./Tantasqua Regional), Chad McCarthy (Sutton, Mass./Blackstone Valley Tech), Daniel McCloskey (Wakefield, R.I./South Kingstown), Christopher McDonnell (Abington, Mass./Abington) and Aram Mulhern (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) will look to crack the Buccaneer lineup and make an impact during their respective inaugural campaigns.

Ryan's crew begins the 2009 season on Saturday, September 12^th by hosting the Fifth Annual Lt. Travis J. Fuller Invitational on campus, and the Buccaneers will be vying for the MASCAC Championship on Saturday, October 24^th at Westfield State's Stanley Park.