BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — For all of LIU standout Elyas Ayyoub's accomplishments, he had never won a collegiate cross country race.

Until Saturday.

At the Sharks-hosted LIU Fall Festival, Ayyoub won the men's 8K race in a time of 25:24.96 — nearly eight full seconds ahead of runner-up Samuel Whittaker of Central Connecticut State.

John Schwab finished next among LIU entrants, taking 53rd with a time of 22:40.29.

The Sharks overall finished eighth of 16 teams competing.

In the women's 5K race, Josephine Critchley (19:54.05), Lexi Smith (19:57.26) and Emily Ginty (20:11.84) finished 21st, 22nd and 29th respectively among the 141 entrants.

The LIU women had fewer than five runners and did not score as a team.

"It was nice defending the home course," Ayyoub said. "I've trained on this thing for months. It feels good to take the win."