The Lions competed at the Haverford Invitational held at Haverford College in Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon, where the men's and women's cross country teams dominated the non-team scoring event.
The meet showcased the College's sub-varsity runners and saw six male Lions finish among the top 25 runners. Freshman Andrew Herschman was the first to cross the finish line for the College, completing the four-mile course in 21:20.
"Most of the guys had run at the same course in September," Herschman said. "It was good to see improvements in times and form a close pack among the freshmen."
Freshman Kevin Schickling placed next in 21:29, while classmate Shaun McGeever had a time of 21:34. Freshman Ian Boyle finished with a time of 21:45.
Rounding out the Lions' runners were freshmen Dom Docimo (21:45) and Robert Dill (22:16).
The women's cross country team also found success, as eight runners finished in the top 20. Senior Sarah Best led the way, completing the three-mile course in 19:07, capturing seventh place. Junior Denise Belz trailed Best with a finishing time of 19:33.
Sophomore Noelle Gotthardt ran the course in 19:36. Freshman Sarah Smith was next in 19:40, while junior Michelle Barbarasch was right at her heels in 19:43.
Sophomore Brittany Erickson crossed the line next (19:44) and was followed by freshman Alyssa Bannon (20:02).
With a majority of the team posting 30-second to one-minute time improvements, the Invitational was clearly a success for the College.
"We've got a great team, and I think when our freshman class gets better, we'll do really great things. We're all really excited," Herschman said.
Both the men's and women's teams will compete for the 2008 NJAC Championship next Saturday. The meet will take place at Richard Stockton College. Both teams are defending conference champions looking to repeat again.
The women's team has won the last 13 consecutive titles, racking up 24 titles overall. The men have won 14 straight titles, taking home 18 titles all-time.
