LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. – It was a historic day for the TCNJ men's cross country team on Saturday, as the Lions captured the Metro Region Championship.
 
With the victory, the program's first in the Metro Region era and first regional crown since 2005, TCNJ also secured its first NCAA berth since 2016.

Brandon Chen, this year's NJAC champion, was first across the finish line yet again. He sped through the 8K course in 24:25.3—more than 12 seconds faster than the second-place finisher from Haverford.
 
TCNJ's first five finishers all placed inside the top 20, and all seven of their runners got inside the top 25. Kevin Matthews finished in 9^th (24:49.9), joining Chen in the top 10, while Matt Granizo followed soon after in 12^th (25:01.5). NJAC Rookie of the Year Josh Santiago was next in 16^th (25:17.0) and Moksh Patwari crossed the line a few seconds later in 18^th (25:18.4) to round out the strong scoring five for TCNJ. Phil Pace (23^rd, 25:39.9) and Evan Melito (24^th, 25:43.8) filled out TCNJ's excellent performance at the regional championship. As a result, all seven of TCNJ's runners have secured All-Region honors for this year.
 
Just as they did in the NJAC Championship, the Lions put a substantial distance between themselves and the rest of the regional field. TCNJ won with a score of 56, which was a full 20 points better than 2^nd-place Swarthmore.
 
For the first time in almost a decade, the Lions now prepare for next Saturday's Division III Championship in Spartanburg, South Carolina.