Results
FAIRFIELD, CT – On Saturday morning, the Manhattan College men's and women's cross country teams hit the road for the first time this season, heading to Fairfield University for the Fr. Victor J. Leeber, S.J. Invitational. And the Jaspers' success from their first two meets carried over, as Manhattan finished third as a team in both races.
With the Jaspers competing for the third weekend in a row, Head Coach Kerri Gallagher raced an entirely different squad on Saturday. All of Manhattan's entrants came in fresh, as everyone who raced last Friday at the Iona Meet of Champions was given this weekend off.
In the 8000-meter men's race, Chad Maier (Melville, NY) was the Jaspers' top finisher. He placed fifth overall in 26:42.90. Icen Tyrell Bonner (Everett, WA) also had a top 10 showing, taking eighth in 26:55.81. Liam O'Brien (Clifton Park, NY) and Nicolas O'Brien (Clifton Park, NY) secured 13th (28:03.79) and 14th place (28:04.59), respectively. Adam Alshoubeki (Monroe, NY) ended up 16th in 28:52.97, while Dawud Abdur-Rashid (Brooklyn, NY) posted a time of 29:47.01, which was good for 20th place.
The Jaspers tallied 56 points to capture third place in the team standings, just behind Fairfield (52). Sacred Heart claimed the team title with 22 points.
On the women's side, Kaitlyn Smith (Effort, PA) led the way for the Jaspers. She completed the 5100-meter course in 19:58.95 to place sixth individually. Caitlin Hartnett (Tappan, NY) finished 14th in 21:09.27, while Sam Hoagland (Colts Neck, NJ) took 15th in 21:18.02. Manhattan's next four runners crossed the line consecutively. Grace Ostolozaga (Stony Point, NY) posted a time of 21:37.33, which was good for 18th place. She was followed closely by Gianna Tinto (Kings Park, NY) (19th, 21:39.43), Maddie Sauer (Yardley, PA) (20th, 22:01.76) and Megan Carmody (Rumford, RI) (21st, 22:02.80).
Manhattan recorded a team score of 72 points to grab third place overall. Sacred Heart had the top five individual finishers for a perfect team score of 15 points.
“We saw some competitive racing today,” Gallagher said. “I'm looking forward to continuing to improve throughout the season.”
After taking next weekend off, the Jaspers return to action on Friday, Oct. 7 for the annual Metropolitan Championships at Van Cortlandt Park.