NEC Release
Complete Individual Results

PLAINVILLE, Mass. – The LIU men's cross country team had a strong showing at the 2020-21 Northeast Conference championship meet Sunday. The Sharks finished seventh out of seven teams, but had an All-NEC performance from Bryan Villafuerte.
 
The sophomore finished 14th, in 25:44.00, averaging 5:11 per mile to become LIU's first all-NEC honoree in over ten years. He was named second team All-NEC for his efforts.
 
"We knew today was going to be a challenge," head coach Chris Sauer said. "Contact tracing kept three of our top four runners from competing today, but there were still some big surprises. Bryan Villafuerte ran the best race of his life. We were hoping for a middle of the pack finish, and lap after lap, he just kept moving up until he was finally in the top 14 to grab an All-Conference spot. I don't know how many years it's been since LIU has had one on the men's side, but it's been a while. Perry Balsamo also stepped up in a big way. With five of our runners being freshman an 8k, especially the first one they've ever run, was going to be a shock, but Perry and Bryan both ran a 5k PR during their 8k, and both finished incredibly well. I'm proud of how this group stepped up when they were needed. We have a young group and they'll only get better."
 
Perry Balsamo finished in the top 30 for the Sharks, coming in 26th with a time of 26:47.60. Justin Rajab and Darin Cofield crossed the line in 56th and 57th, with times of 29:06.10 and 29.23.40 respectively. And Brenden Rosario and Aaditya Vaghela also crossed the line back-to-back in 59th and 60th (30:38.90 and 32:02.40 respectively).