LEWISBURG, Pa. – Staving off a constant challenge from a pair of Navy runners, American's Brendan Johnson won the men's 10,000-meter run Friday morning at the Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Bucknell.
Johnson, a junior from Waldorf, Md., became AU's first individual outdoor champion since 2013. Mark Allen won the men's 5,000 that season.
Johnson finished in 30:18.89, followed by Navy's Lucas Stalnaker at 30:20.01 and Mitchell Pratt of Navy at 30:26.78. Johnson came into the 10K with the best time of the season among PL competitors.
Also for the Eagles,
Tommy Sommer placed 15th in 31:47.32 and
Tom Dengler was 17th in 32:01.25. Both of those AU freshmen were competing in their first 10,000 of the season.
For each of the 25 laps, Johnson, Stalnaker and Pratt were within two seconds of each other. The long battle came down to the final lap, when Johnson covered the last 400 meters in 61 seconds, out-kicking Stalnaker by just over a second for the win.
Trevor Patton placed 12th in the men's long jump at 21 feet, 3.25 inches.
The Patriot League Outdoor Championships finish Saturday with field events starting at 11:15 a.m. and running events beginning at noon.
