By Ann Brunn
Staff Writer
The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished first and second place overall, respectively, on Saturday, Oct. 19, in the St. Joseph’s College Invitational.
Five of the men placed in the top 14, as freshman Tyler Balas led the pack with a fourth-place finish at 27:53.3 in the 8-Kilometer race.
Freshman Kevin Christensen placed in sixth with a time of 28:04.9, while sophomore Fabian Mestanza followed in eighth with a time of 28:10.1.
Junior Alex Carideo and sophomore Gabriel Calandri posted back-to-back finishes in 13th and 14th place with times of 28:22.0 and 28:25.5, respectively. Sophomores Stuart Gruters and Michael Iannotta closed out the scoring positions for the Lions.
Five of the women placed in the top 24, as junior Marykate Bailey paced the Lions in the 5-Kilometer race with an 11th-place finish at 20:41.4.
Sophomore Jazzlyn Diaz finished seconds later in 13th place with a time of 20:47.7, while junior Casey Hopkins locked up 16th place at 21:03.5.
Freshman Valentina Palomo and sophomore Christina Cauley finished in 23rd and 24th, respectively, with times of 21:20.3 and 21:20.6.
Senior Hailey Bookwalter and junior Jill Neggia rounded out the scoring placements for the Lions.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are focused on preparing for the championship races at New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship hosted by Stockton University on Nov. 2.
