The top six winners in Saturday’s race get a selection in the United States squad for the international championship and Langon left nothing with a time of 23:53.8 over 8,000 meters in Pole Green Park. He ran close to the front of the lead pack for the entire race, with a mile to go and came in over 15 seconds ahead of the first runner outside the top six. The International Games take place on Saturday, February 18.
“I’m happy that Marco has the opportunity to compete in the World Championship,” said the Villanova head coach Marcus O’Sullivan said. “This is a big thing for him to get the result he did today and especially considering it’s a tough field [of competitors] as far as I can remember. It’s impressive for Marco to reach this level at such a young age.”
Langon ran against a field that featured young runners from many of the top college programs in the country as well as elite clubs and non-committed players. He was stable from the starting gun and never fell outside of the qualification (six points) for the world championship at any time during the race. Langon was first, second or third in the field for the final 5K of the race and ran the final mile in 2:52.5 to secure his spot on Team USATF.
Unaffiliated runner Emilio Young of California pulled away in the final 1000 meters to win the race comfortably in 23:46.8, but behind him, the next five qualifiers were separated by only 5.5 seconds and final destination. Langon crossed the line less than a second behind Micah Wilson from Wisconsin (23:53.4) while other sixth-place finishers included Evan Jenkins from Washington (23:54.1), Max Sannes from Air Force (23:54.2) and Luke Venhuizen from Michigan (23:58.9).
The final race of the day on Saturday was the Wildcats graduate school boys’ 10K race. Henry Myers (Portland, Ore.) competition. Myers is 41 years oldSt while finishing in 31:26.8 in his first career 10K national 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 & field teams. Myers is running in his first tournament since winning the Haverford Invitational in October. He scored four runs for the Wildcats in the fall, and his hits included 18th where it ends with the Main Line call at 19th where the results in the Open race and Paul Short Run.
Langon was an immediate sensation for Villanova during his freshman season. He began the year as an unattached runner and won the main invitational on September 16, then joined the team for the first time two weeks later when he recorded an 8K time. best of 23:49.4 at Paul Short Run. . Langon went on to be a second-team All-BIG EAST selection and a Mid-Atlantic All-Region performer for a Wildcats squad that won the BIG EAST title and reached the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday’s race for Langon was the latest result of his career. Before coming to Villanova, he was the New Jersey state champion last year when he recorded the second most wins in the state tournament. Langon went on to be a 3rd place All-American at the Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals. He was selected as the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year in cross country and track & field as a senior in high school.
