LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. -  Ryle Mellinger broke the Eastern Men's Cross Country program record on Saturday with a 25:17.5 run over the eight kilometer course at the NCAA Metro Region Championships. Mellinger earned All-Region honors with a 17th place finish, and set the program record by five seconds. Eastern's 12th place  finish was the program's best since 2018.

Over the last nine years, the super-fast DREAM Park course has been a venue where Eastern Cross Country has posted great marks. Coming into today, five of the top ten times in Eastern Men's Cross Country history, and the top three overall, have been run at DREAM Park.

Greg Thomas set the previous record of 25:22.8 nine years ago at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle. That race was also run at DREAM Park. It is the second straight week that Mellinger has finished with a career-best time. After running his first mile in 5:02, Mellinger kept that pace through three miles and passed five guys in the final two miles. It was his first time under 26 minutes on a five-mile course.

Five of the next six Eastern runners also set new personal bests at DREAM Park. Junior Robert Walton was second for the Eagles with a 10-second PR at 26:26.3.  First-year Joshua Knox-Wagner was third for the Eagles with a 42-second PR at 27:13.7. Senior Jason Karch finished with a 38 second PR at 27:18.8, Sophomores Anthony Zamichieli and Matthew Schilling ran 20 second and 10 seconds PRs at 27:46 and 28:21, respectively.

"This is such a fitting finish for our men's season," Eastern Head Coach Kiehl Smith said. "Culturally, we have taken a huge step forward. The biggest priority to them is how the team does instead of worrying about individual performances. Today, they got off the bus with energy, got out well, and executed a strong race. This was a job well done and a phenomenal way to see out such a good season. I believe these guys are primed and ready to be a top-10 program in the region next year."