FAIRVIEW, Pa. –  The Gannon University men's cross country team flipped the script from a season ago at the 2021 Race in the Park (where they lost to Mercyhurst by a single point) and this year claimed first place by that same margin, 27 to 28.
 
Caleb Mandel (Harborcreek, Pa./Harbor Creek) (26:23.6) continued his excellent streak of results and was the overall race winner, finishing eight seconds quicker than Mercyhurst's Alec Bidwell. Gannon's Luke Malena (Medina, Ohio/Cloverleaf) (27:05.9) came home in third place, with Gavyn Hansotte (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) (27:47.2, sixth place), Alex Chelton (Oil City, Pa./Cathedral Prep) (27:57.5, seventh), and John Insinna (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) (28:35.4, 10^th) rounding out the top ten.
 
The Knights' top five finishers completed the 8K course in an average of 27:33.9 and a total time of 2:17.49.4.
 
Final results for all of Gannon's runners:
 
1^st – Caleb Mandel (Harborcreek, Pa./Harbor Creek) – 26:23.6
3^rd – Luke Malena (Medina, Ohio/Cloverleaf) – 27:05.9
6^th – Gavyn Hansotte (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) – 27:47.2
7^th – Alex Chelton (Oil City, Pa./Cathedral Prep) – 27:57.5
10^th – John Insinna (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) – 28:35.4
11^th – Jeremiah Vezza (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield) – 30:43.0
15^th – Luke Andraso (Erie, Pa./Northwest Pa. Collegiate Academy) – 31:26.7
16^th – Carlos Mamani (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) – 32:08.4
 
Next up on the schedule for the Golden Knights is the Bill Lennox Invitational hosted by Slippery Rock University, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 22 at 11:00 a.m.