PENNINGTON, N.J. – The Manhattan College men's and women's cross country teams were in action at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships on Saturday at Rosedale Park. The Jasper men finished sixth overall, their highest placement at the MAAC Championships since also taking sixth in 2011. The women's squad, meanwhile, placed seventh, its best showing since 2009.
This was a new venue for the MAAC Championships, but not the first time that the Jaspers had run on the course. Manhattan previously competed at Rosedale Park on Sept. 19 and benefitted from that experience, with the top seven men and top nine women all posting faster times on Saturday than six weeks ago.
It was a good team race for the men, as Manhattan's first seven finishers all crossed the line within one minute of each other. Tom Diliberto (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) paced the Jaspers for the second meet in a row. He ran 8000 meters in 24:44.1 to place 19th. Amir Khaghani (Bethesda, Md.) was 28th in 24:59.1, while John Dove (Monroe, N.Y.) had his best race of the season. He took 34th in 25:06.7. Nick Matson (Clifton Park, N.Y.) followed Dove in 35th place (25:07.5). Joseph Lundberg (Freehold, N.J.), meanwhile, broke into Manhattan's top five for the first time with a 41st-place finish (25:12.8). Chris Orlando (Newburyport, Mass.) (44th, 25:16.6) and Nick Adamo (Franklin Square, N.Y.) (25:34.8) completed the Jaspers' top seven.
After finishing ninth in the previous two years, Manhattan grabbed sixth place on the men's side with 157 team points. Nationally-ranked Iona captured its 25th straight MAAC title with 15 points.
On the women's side, Lisa Fajardo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished 13th in her first MAAC Championships. The freshman ran 6000 meters in 22:01.53. Lorraine Brancale (Staten Island, N.Y.) took 27th in 22:32.43, while Keeley Hogan (Delmar, N.Y.) was 33rd in 22:40.46. Erin Spadaccini (Wilmington, Del.) was the third freshman among Manhattan's top four finishers. She grabbed 43rd place in a time of 22:55.12. Kaitlyn Smith (Effort, Pa.) finished 46th in 23:02.87, and she was followed by Alexa Roda (Staten Island, N.Y.) (52nd, 23:19.07) and Samantha Manalastas (Smithtown, N.Y.) (23:19.54).
With a team score of 162 points, Manhattan ended up just four points behind Canisius for sixth place. Quinnipiac tallied 39 points to capture its first MAAC Championship in women's cross country and end Iona's 10-year winning streak.
In addition, the members of the MAAC All-Academic Team were announced. Those student-athletes who have completed at least two semesters at their institution and boast a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher are recognized. Five men—Adamo, Dove, Orlando, Steven Forte (Bellmore, N.Y.) and Conor McDonough (Niskayuna, N.Y.) were honored, along with Kelly Gorman (South Amboy, N.J.), Lauren Valle (Hampton Bays, N.Y.), Manalastas and Roda from the women's squad.