Lions Win Title; Seven Named All-AMCC

Lions Win Title; Seven Named All-AMCC

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. – The Penn State Behrend men's cross country team were crowned the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Champions (AMCC).  A week after the actual competition took place, the Lions discovered they had in fact won the title due to an administrative error.

It is the fifth overall championship for the men and the first since 2009.  Behrend took home places four through 10 with seven runners being honored with All-Conference accolades.

Sophomore Denis Lydon (Plum, PA/Plum) paced Behrend with a time of 28:22.  Michael Smolinski (Wexford, PA/North Allegheny) finished with a time of 28:38.  

Two first-year runners contributed strong times for Behrend. Jason Zabelsky (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) and Billy Cvecko (Erie, PA/McDowell) each clocked in under 30 minutes.  Zabelsky came in at 29:06 with Cvecko close behind at 29:23.  

Senior Carl Kallgren (Erie, PA/McDowell) capped off his AMCC career with a time of 29:23. Alex Myers (Oakmont, PA/Riverview) and Andrew Mason (Wilmington, DE/Concord) rounded out the top seven for the Lions with a times of 29:35 and 29:36 respectively.

Along with bringing the crown back to Behrend, all seven runners were awarded First-Team All-Conference honors. 

Kallgren earned All-AMCC honors for the fourth consecutive year.  Myers was acknowledged for the third straight year and Lydon for the second.  Smolinski, Zabelsky, Cvecko, and Mason were each first-time winners.  Cvecko was awarded the AMCC Newcomer of the Year as well.