La Salle cross country coach Frank Russo has been very pleased with the progress his Lancers are making this fall. Despite two consecutive Division I state titles, Russo knew this would be a younger squad this season.

 

However, La Salle has proven it belongs with the elite teams in the area once again as it was runner-up to Loveland in the FinishTiming.com Invitational at Wilmington College the first meet of the season. It bested Hilliard Darby by 34 points in that meet.

 

Last week, La Salle finished fourth at the Greenville Invitational – breaking a nine-year streak of defending the team title. However, Russo said there were several positive signs from that meet.

 

“We were just 19 points out of second which we hope we can continue to improve upon,” Russo said.

 

Russo said the Lancers have a “freshman phenom” in Travis Hawes, who has already run 16:19 for 5K and is closing in on breaking the 16-minute mark.

 

“He has competed against some of the top individuals in the state to date and has held his own,” Russo said.

 

Last weekend, Hawes was sixth overall at Greenville. This weekend, La Salle travels to Columbus for the Midwest Meet of Champions.

 

“With four Foot Locker All-Americans coming out of program, (Hawes) is by far out to the best start of any La Salle cross country runner in school history,” Russo said.