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Results: Men | Women
RIVERDALE, NY – In hot and humid conditions, the Manhattan College men's and women's cross country teams began the 2016 season on Saturday morning. And both squads got off to a successful start. Behind two top 10 finishers, the men placed third. The Jasper women, meanwhile, took fourth in the team standings.
Due to a last-minute course change, the men raced a slightly shorter distance than the standard 8000 meters. Nick Matson (Clifton Park, NY) and Drew Reda (Matawan, NJ) each finished among the top 10 to lead four Jaspers in the top 15 (and six in the top 20). Matson was eighth overall with a time of 25:31.19, while Reda, in his first race for Manhattan after transferring from Quinnipiac, placed 10th in 25:41.34.
John Dove (Monroe, NY) also had a solid race. He took 13th in 25:56.11, just ahead of teammate Amir Khaghani (Bethesda, MD) (14th, 26:01.25). Christian McLaughlin (Allenhurst, NJ) and Patrick Hennelly (Suffern, NY) also crossed the line in succession. McLaughlin ended up 18th in 26:29.56, while Hennelly's time of 26:35.68 was good for 19th place. Chris Orlando (Newburyport, MA) was the Jaspers' seventh finisher. He grabbed 22nd place with a 26:43.70 clocking.
The meet was scored separately between the Division I teams and those from Division II/III. Manhattan was third both among Division I programs and overall. The Jaspers earned 62 points. Yale finished first with 27 points, while Fordham was second with 45 points.
Manhattan's performance in the women's race was just as solid. The Jaspers ended up fourth with 120 team points. First-place Yale finished with a team score of 44, while Monmouth collected 57 points and Fordham tallied 70 points.
Caroline Ferri (Garden City, NY) was the Jaspers' top finisher. She completed the 5000 meters in 19:49.92, which was good for 14th place. Lisa Fajardo (Brooklyn, NY) also had a top-20 showing. She earned 17th place with a time of 19:57.29.
Cementing Manhattan's fourth-place team finish were a quartet of runners that all crossed the line within 20 seconds of each other. Kelly Gorman (South Amboy, NJ) took 30th in 20:26.34, while Keeley Hogan (Delmar, NY) placed 33rd in 20:34.83. They were closely followed by Erin Spadaccini (Wilmington, DE) in 34th place (20:38.14) and Sam Hoagland (Colts Neck. NJ) in 39th (20:47.97). Gianna Tinto (Kings Park, NY) rounded out the Jaspers' top seven with her 49th-place finish (21:25.40).
Next Friday, the Jaspers return to Van Cortlandt Park for the Iona Meet of Champions. The first race gets underway at 9:30 a.m.