By Malcolm Luck
Staff Writer
After a week off following the Blue and Gold Alumni Invitational on Sept. 1, the Lions were back in action, participating in the Bill Fritz Invitational at Rowan University on Saturday, Sept. 15.
The men’s team took eighth place out of 23 teams, while the women’s squad placed seventh out of 17.
For the men, top performances were led by freshman William Mayhew, who placed 17th in a packed slate of 245 competitors for the 8k event. Mayhew’s time of 27:06.43 was also good enough to earn him the top mark for all freshman competitors. Following behind was sophomore Matt Kole, completing the race in 28:01.39, good for 40th place.
Earning 46th place was sophomore Alex Carideo with his time of 28:05.36. Junior Chris Coombs clocked in at 28:52.88 earning 74th, followed by freshman Jack Ennis and sophomore Noah Preihs respectively finishing in 29:00.72 and 29:26.13.
Collectively, the men’s team had an average time of 28:13.26.
The women offered a change of pace, participating in the 6k event in a field of 166 runners. Leading the College’s charge were freshmen Hanna Batchelder and Emily Prendergast –– both provided a successive strike for the Lions in 40th and 41st places. Batchelder completed the race in 25:10.54, just seconds before Prendergast, who crossed the finish line in 25:14.24.
Sophomore MaryKate Bailey joined her teammates shortly, clocking in at 25:30.25, good for 47th place. Sophomore Zoe Paxos was not far behind in 54th place, finishing in 25:38.25.
A pride of Lions soon followed, beginning with sophomore Katelyn Morgan in 75th, freshman Brittany Schofield in 79th and sophomore Jill Neggia in 80th.
Junior Ryann Regan, sophomore Amy Cmielewski and freshman Tara Donoghue earned 82nd, 87th and 89th places, respectively. Sophomore Casey Hopkins came in 94th to round out the day for the Lions. Overall, the women earned an average time of 25:39.62.
Following an irregular schedule to open the season, the Lions will return to racing every Saturday until mid-October, beginning with the Osprey Open at Stockton University on Saturday, Sept. 22. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.
