DAYTON, Ohio – University of Dayton men's cross country head coach Jason Ordway announced that three new Flyers that will join the program in the fall of 2016: JP Flavin Toms River, N.J.), Tanner Hawley (Sullivan, Ohio) and Colin Thies (Medina, Ohio).


John "JP" Flavin will graduate from Tom River North High School in Toms River, N.J.
• First overall in the 2015 Shore Conference Championship
• NJ.com Cross Country Athlete of the Week (11/4/2015)
• 10^th overall at the New Jersey Cross Country Meet of Champions (NJ HS State Championships) held at Holmdel Park, Holmdel, N.J.
•  Recorded the sixth-fastest 5K Cross Country time in the state of New Jersey in 2015
•  Personal best 5K time of 15:15.0

Coach Ordway's comments: JP will be looking to make an instant impact on the team his freshman year. Signing one of the top runners in New Jersey this year was a big addition to the team. JP is a hard worker and with the combination of our style of training and a team that's able to really push him in workouts, I think he'll continue to flourish. He was looking at some big programs out East, but he felt like Dayton gave him the best chance to succeed academically, as well as athletically. He was comfortable on campus and with the team, and the guys had only good things to say about him. 
 
Tanner Hawley will graduate from Black River High School in Sullivan, Ohio.
• Third overall at 2015 Division III OHSAA Cross Country Championship
• First overall at the Patriot Athletic Conference Championship
• First overall and event record time (15:58.1) at J.B. Firestone Invitational·        
• Placed ninth (and was fourth man for Team Ohio) in 16:00.3 in the Mid-East Cross Country Championships, held at Indian Riffle Park, Kettering, Ohio
• Ran under 16 minutes for 5K during his senior season six times
•  Personal best 5K time of 15:37.0

Coach Ordway's comments: Tanner has really had a breakout senior year at Black River. Once he got the 16:00 barrier monkey off his back, he consistently got under it and won a lot of meets throughout his final season. He comes from the small schools division (Division III) in Ohio just like I did. I have personal experience developing runners with his background, and I'm really excited to see where he can go once he gets onto a team where he goes from the #1 to #10+ overnight. He's the type of competitor where he'll embrace the challenge and work that much harder to move up the roster.
 
Colin Theis will graduate from Buckeye High School in Medina, Ohio.
• Fifth overall at 2015 Division II OHSAA Cross Country Championship
• Second overall at the Patriot Athletic Conference Championship
• First overall at Galion XC Festival
• Finished sixth or better at every race his senior season
• Personal best 5K time of 15:49.4

Coach Ordway's comments: Colin is going to be a very solid, consistent guy for us. He's the type of student-athlete that you know is going to come out every day and work hard. Colin's got a good head on his shoulders and great legs underneath him. I think he'll be as good as he wants to be, and achieve the goals we set for him each year. Colin and Tanner have been racing each other since they both got into the sport and have built a solid friendship as a result. Tanner has had his number this year, but you can bet Colin will use that as motivation to try to settle the score this spring and during their time at the University of Dayton. It's a neat thing to watch when friendly rivals become teammates. I'm glad I'll have a front row seat.
 
The Flyers look to improve on their solid 2015 performances with the help of the new freshmen. With only losing two seniors at the end of this season, next year's squad will have a good combination of veterans and new runners to add strength to the program.