The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s winter championship again proved to be a strong title competition for Iona’s cross-country program.

In this year’s edition, the Gaels finished first overall in five different competitions, including all long distance events.

Junior Matt Gillespie, who was voted the Most Outstanding Performer for Track Events in the tournament, paced Iona in the championship. Gillespie won two individual events in the championship; the 800-meter run (1:52.33) and one mile run (4:05.21).

Furthermore, he was the fourth and final member of the distance relay medley that set a MAAC record time of 9:58:32.

His first place finish in the mile made Gillespie one of four Gaels who finished in the top five in the mile. Senior Chris Stogsdill finished in second and freshman Tim Walsh in third. Sophomore Otis Ubriaco rounded out the field with a fifth place finish.

Gillespie alone did not win every race for Iona at the championships. Junior Daniel Clorley won the 3K with a time of 8:14.46. During the same race, freshman Kieran Clements, sophomores Ethan Heywod, Michael O’Dowd and junior Nick Lachman finished fourth through seventh.

In the 5,000-meter race, sophomore Andrew Kowalsky won with a time of 14:29.21. Clements and O’Dowd finished second and third respectively, completing a sweep of medals for the men.

Another notable performance in the 5K came from graduate student Craig Murphy, who finished sixth overall.

The men finished fourth in the MAAC championship.

Meanwhile, the women also registered a strong performance in the championship with four first place finishes.

Senior Marion Joly-Testault, who was named Co-Most Outstanding Performer in Track alongside Manhattan’s Ashley Bowman, led the Gaels in the races. Joly-Testault had two first place finishes in the 3K and the 5K.

In the 3K, Joly-Testault had a time of 10:12:68, more than four seconds faster than the second place finisher. Graduate student Jackie Mack finished third in the race, registering a time of 10:18.47.

When competing in the 5K, Joly-Testault again finished first, though it was by just 12 hundredths of a second over her closest challenger, Loyola’s Kiera Harrison with a time of 17:10.08.

Another first place finish in an individual race for the women came from junior Kirsten Stewart in the mile run. Stewart finished with a time of 4:54.87.

Several Gaels placed in the championship, including a fourth place finish from Mack (4:59:32) while senior Luci McLoughlin placed fifth with a time of 4:59.97. Senior Erin Brady had a finish of tenth overall at 5:40:36.

The other race won by Iona at the championship, came in the distance medley, where a combination of McLoughlin, Stewart, sophomore Marlene Delices and junior Leigh Mazzella earned first place honors with a time of 12:12:74.

Similar to the men, the women placed fourth overall in the championships.

Following the MAAC championships, senior Jimmy Tarsnane was happy with the results, saying, “Everyone was really pleased at the results. We just want to keep up the good results heading into the post indoor season and the outdoor season.”

The cross-country teams will get back to the races on March 1 when they run in the IC4A Championships and the Columbia Last Chance Meet. Both groups will participate in the NCAA Championships on March 8 and 9.