Riverdale, N.Y. (October 6, 2006)-In the first championship race of her collegiate career, freshman Lindsay Southard took third overall, while the Lady Jaspers finished fourth as a team with a score of 104 at the Metropolitan Cross Country Championships. The Manhattan men also competed in the annual championship meet at Van Cortlandt Park on Friday afternoon and finished seventh overall with a team score of 207.
With Southard pacing the team in the 5K race with her time of 18:54.00, the women finished behind only Columbia University, Rutgers University, and Marist College within the 12-team field. A week after running the third best 6K in Lady Jasper history at Van Cortlandt Park during the Iona Meet of Champions, Southard moved onto Manhattan's all-time 5K list at 15th with her time on Friday afternoon.
Eryka Perreault was also a key contributor to the Lady Jaspers' team score, running her best 5K time of the season at 19:26.00 for 17th place overall. With junior status, Perreault was the only upperclassman to score for the Lady Jaspers, whose top five consisted of two freshmen, two sophomores, and Perreault.
Freshman Chanel Williamson was the third Manhattan runner to cross the finish line as she completed the race in 19:35.00. Sophomores Melissa Trauscht and Angela Bernarde rounded out the scoring for the Lady Jaspers, as both clocked in at 20:03.00.
On the men's side,
Todd Raymond continued his senior campaign by leading the Jaspers at 14th overall with an 8K time of 25:56.7.
Junior
Joe McElhoney was the next finisher for Manhattan at 26:44.0, while freshman
Matt Kaftanski (27:20.1), freshman
Scott Roman (27:32.0), and junior
Chris Breslin (27:52.8) completed the scoring for the Jaspers.
With the MAAC Championships three weeks away, Manhattan Cross Country will race once more before vying for the conference title. On October 17, Manhattan will host a dual meet against Iona College at Van Cortlandt Park.
