The top six finishers in Saturday’s race were selected to the U.S. squad for the world championships, and Langone left nothing to be desired, finishing in 23:53.8 over 8,000 meters at Paul Green Park. He ran at the front of the lead pack for the entire race and stayed ahead of the kilometer and finished more than 15 seconds ahead of the first runner outside the top six. The World Athletics Championships will be held on Saturday, February 18.
“I’m excited for Marco to have the opportunity to compete in the World Series,” Villanova head coach Marcus O’Sullivan said “It’s a big deal for him to get the result he did today, especially considering it’s a tough field. [of competitors] As I remember. It’s amazing for Marco to reach this level at such a young age.
Langon competed against a field that included young runners from some of the top collegiate programs in the country, along with elite club and unaffiliated athletes. He was consistent from the opening gun and never fell out of the qualifying range (top six) for the World Championship at any point during the race. Langon was first, second or third in the field for the race’s final 5K and ran the final kilometer in 2:52.5 to secure his spot on Team USATF.
Emilio Young, an unattached runner from California, easily won the final 1000 meters in 23:46.8, but the next five qualifiers behind him were separated by 5.5 seconds at the finish line. Langone crossed the line less than half a second ahead of Wisconsin’s Micah Wilson (23:53.4), while the top six included Washington’s Evan Jenkins (23:54.1), Air Force’s Max Sanz (23:54.2) and Luke Vanhuizen. from Michigan (23:58.9).
The final race of the day on Saturday was the men’s 10K championship race featuring Wildcats graduate students. Henry Myers (Portland, Ore.) Competed. Myers scored 41St Finished in 31:26.8 in his first career 10K cross country race. He is in his first year at Villanova after graduating from the University of Chicago, where he was a four-year member of the cross country and track and field teams. Myers competed in his first tournament since becoming the individual champion at the Haverford Invitational in October. He ran in four games for the Wildcats during the fall, including 18 touchdownsth Final position and 19th in the main draw invitationth Results of the open race of the pole sprint.
Langon was an instant sensation for Villanova during his freshman cross country season. He began the year as an unattached runner and won the Main Line Invitational on Sept. 16, then joined the team lineup for the first time two weeks later when he posted a personal-best 8K time of 23:49.4 at the Paul Short Run. . Langon was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection and Mid-Atlantic All-Region performer for a Wildcats team that won the BIG EAST Championship and advanced to the NCAA Championship.
Saturday’s game for Langone was his latest career high. Before coming to Villanova, he was the New Jersey collegiate champion when he posted a seven-second win at last year’s state championships. Langen became the No. 3 all-time All-American at the Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals. He was named the New Jersey Gatorade Athlete of the Year in cross country and track as a senior in high school.
