STANDISH, MAINE - The announcement of the 2006 Division III All-Independent Fall Teams came from Kansas City, Missouri, this week. The Association consists of 17 Division III independent institutions that have joined together to recognize student-athletes at independent institutions and to provide exempted postseason championship competition in seven sports.

From Saint Joseph's, Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, N.H.) earned a spot on the All-Independent Second Team and Matt Ferguson (S.Windsor, CT) received Honorable Mention recognition.

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Springfield, MA – Ryan Prescott capped off an outstanding sophomore season with a 99th place in a field of 309 runners at the NE Regionals. It was the first time that a Monk has cracked the top 100 since St. Joe’s started competing in the NCAA in 2002. He also broke 28 minutes for the 5-mile course for the second time this season. “We set a goal of top 100 and less than 28 minutes and Ryan went out and did it. He impresses me more and more,” stated a pleased Coach Dann. Dann also added, “If he really puts his mind to it and makes the off-season commitment, he will be in the top 50 next year.”

Senior captain Matt Ferguson completed an outstanding career at St. Joe’s with a 29:55 effort, a solid finish considering that he had to deal with a foot injury during the last week of training. Coach Dann expressed praise for Ferguson’s hard work, leadership, and dedication to the program for four years.

Tony Myatt, Jeremy Allen, and Kevin McKim were once again the valuable scorers for the Monks, helping the squad to 33rd place out of 50 teams in the competitive meet. Joshua Thibodeau and Joe Crocker also competed for St. Joe’s in this qualifier meet for the Nationals.

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Williamstown, MA – Sophomore Ryan Prescott continued his hot running with a 66th place finish in a field of 282 runners. “Ryan challenged himself by getting out hard the first mile. He paid for it in the last half mile where he lost 10 places, but I have no problem with that at all,” stated Coach Dann. Dann was impressed with his aggressiveness as a runner.

Senior captain Matt Ferguson was next for the Monks (159th place). He also got out quick according to Coach Dann. Following Ferguson were Jeremy Allen, Tony Myatt, Kevin McKim, Joshua Thibodeau and Joe Crocker. “Thibodeau had a great race, setting a personal record on a fairly tough course,” said Coach Dann.

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Nashua, NH – Competing in their first GNAC Championship, the Monks finished in 6th place in a competitive field despite challenging conditions.

For the third consecutive meet, sophomore Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, NH) led the way for the Monks with a 6th place finish followed closely by senior captain Matt Ferguson (South Windsor, CT) in 10th place. Both runners earned “all conference” for their top 10 finishes.

Freshman Jeremy Allen (Rutland, VT), sophomore Tony Myatt (Portland, ME) and sophomore Kevin McKim (North Attleboro, MA) rounded out the scoring as they have all season. Freshman Joe Crocker (Saco, ME) had shown steady improvement, finishing as the team’s “6th man”.

“Now we know what the GNAC is all about and we are ready to set our sights on next year’s championships,” stated Coach Dann.

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Brunswick, ME – The Monks finished in a strong 5th-place position, meeting the team goal set prior to the race. In fact, this team finish matched the highest position achieved since 1995 and no SJC team has finished higher than a 4th place finish in 1989.

The Monks were led by several outstanding performances, most notably sophomore Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, NH) in 36th place with a personal best 27:53 and sophomore Tony Myatt (Portland, ME) with his best time of 29:37 as the team’s third runner.

Ever-consistent, captain Matt Ferguson (South Windsor, CT) ran a 28:44 for second best on the team, and freshman Jeremy Allen (Rutland, VT) hung on as the team’s number four runner. This was enough to hold off Maine-Presque Isle by three points for the strong team finish.

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Standish, ME – The men’s cross country team finished in a satisfying 2nd place in their home invitational, losing only to NAIA perennial power Lyndon State College.

Leading the way for the Monks for the first time was sophomore Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, NH) who, according to Coach Dann, “ran the race of his life,” finishing only four seconds behind Bobby Penney of Lyndon State with a time of 28:58. Prescott “put the hammer down” over the last two miles to overcome other Lyndon runners.

The ever-consistent senior captain Matt Ferguson (South Windsor, CT) and freshman Jeremy Allen (Rutland, VT) also had strong finishes for the Monks. Sophomores Tony Myatt (Portland, ME) and Kevin McKim (North Attleboro, MA) also ran well.

St. Joe’s competes in the State of Maine Meet at Twin Brooks in Cumberland, Maine, on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 11:45 AM.

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Farmington, ME – Senior captain Matt Ferguson (South Windsor, CT) once again led the Monks with his fifth place finish and was followed closely by sophomore Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, NH) in seventh.

While Bowdoin College dominated the event, Ferguson and Prescott broke up the pack and led St. Joe’s to a second place finish. Freshman Jeremy Allen (Rutland, VT) continues to impress Coach Dann with his consistent racing as the Monks’ #3 runner.

Sophomore Tony Myatt (Portland, ME) had his best race so far finishing only seconds behind Allen. According to Coach Dann, Myatt’s run was the difference in holding off a recently surging Maine Presque Isle team. “They have been hot on our heels the last two meets, but Tony put that to rest on Saturday with his solid effort,” said Dann.

St. Joe’s hosts the Runnin’ Monks Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 7, with the men’s race at 12:00 noon.

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Wenham, MA – The men’s team had a strong showing at the rainy Pop Crowell Invitational hosted by Gordon College on Saturday. The squad took 8th place out of 23 scoring teams.

The team was led by the 1-2 punch of senior captain Matt Ferguson (South Windsor, CT) and sophomore Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, NH) who finished 19th and 20th respectively, both timed in 29:10. “They were probably around 40th place at the first mile and moved their way up through the field working together,” said a pleased Coach Dann.

Freshman Jeremy Allen (Rutland, VT) ran a solid race, showing some consistency. Closing out the scoring for the Monks was sophomore Tony Myatt (Portland, ME) and sophomore Kevin McKim (North Attleboro, MA).

Along with the strong team finish, the Monks were the third GNAC finisher of the nine conference schools entered, which bodes well for the GNAC Championship to be held on October 28th.

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Standish, ME – The St. Joe’s cross country teams were tested by several competitive alumni on Saturday in the annual event.

Senior Matt Ferguson (South Windsor, CT) won his second consecutive race (30:22), but was followed closely by sophomore Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, NH) (30:38). FY Jeremy Allen (Rutland, VT) continues to impress the coaching staff with his third place finish, as he edged out alum Matt Hughes (’05). Next in were sophomore Tony Myatt (Portland, ME), Wayne Piers (husband of women’s race winner Sheri), alums Matt Olson and Matt Vasil (two members of the “Matt Attack”) and Sean Ireland, SJC Director of Gifts.

Other alumni who raced included the newest member of the SJC Hall of Fame, Stu Hogan (’85), founder of the SJC cross country program, Alan Reilly (’76), Jeff Crocker (’86), father of SJC FY Joe Crocker, Brian Flanders (’85) and Kevin Upham (’05).

“This was once again a wonderful event bringing together the past history of the program with the present edition of SJC cross country,” states Coach Tom Dann.

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Biddeford, ME – The Saint Joseph’s College cross country squad placed four runners in the top 10 for a team score of 42 and won the men’s race. Senior captain Matt Ferguson (South Windsor, CT) was the overall winner with a time of 29:54. Sophomore Ryan Prescott (Pittsfield, NH) took fourth (30:58), freshman Jeremy Allen (Rutland, VT) finished in 7th (32:02) and sophomore Tony Myatt (Portland, ME) took 10th place (32:57).

University of Maine Presque Isle finished in 2nd place (54) and New England College took 3rd (65).

Rounding out the scoring for the Monks was freshman Austin Martin (Boca Raton, FL) in 21st (35:09). Other Monk runners finishing were sophomore Kevin McKim (North Attleboro, MA) (31st, 36:35), sophomore Joshua Thibodeau (Madison, ME) (32nd, 36:50), freshman Joe Crocker (Saco, ME) (43rd, 39:03), freshman Derek DeFonzo (Amherst, MA) (58th, 45:30) and freshman Joe Vining (Portland, ME) (61st, 46:30).

St. Joe’s takes on the Alumni during Homecoming Weekend on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 11:45 a.m.