By Miguel Gonzalez
Sports Editor
After a three week hiatus, the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Osprey Open at Stockton University. The men finished second at the meet while the women claimed fourth place.
The Lions got a glimpse of the terrain as Stockon will host the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship.
Freshman Matthew Kole led the Lions with an 11th place finish, 27:30.9. Kole was followed by sophomore Lucas Pick and freshman Pelle Nogueira, who clocked in 27:37.45 and 27:38.37 respectively.
Freshmen Alex Carideo and Evan Bush both had strong performances. Carideo completed the race in 27:50.3 and Bush in 28:02.3. The Lions came in second behind the Ramapo College Roadrunners. Six Roadrunners finished in the top 10.
Meanwhile, the women’s cross country team ran against strong competition like Philadelphia University, Stockton University and Ramapo College.
“We sent most of our freshman to compete in Stockton,” said coach Justin Lindsey. “Most of these players are competing for their first time. The main challenge is that they are running 6k for the first time as opposed to running 5k in high school.”
Junior Olivia Shenkman led the Lions with a 10th place finish, clocking in at 24:51.82. One minute later, sophomore Hannah Fay and senior Cassidy Cardone crossed the finish line at 25:41.92 and 25:42.49, respectively.
Two freshmen came after, as Jill Neggia finished with a time of 25:52.51 and Jessica Hrnciar clocked in with a time of 26:14.77.
The Lions will be trekking for first place on Friday, Sept. 29, as they compete in the Paul Short Invitational at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
