Riverdale, NY - Junior Lisa Fajardo (Brooklyn, NY / Bishop Kearney) posted a time of 17:58.9 in the 2017 ECAC Cross Country Championships at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday, November 18, setting a Manhattan College record for the 5,000-meter course. The record-breaking time placed Fajardo third out of 209 runners, and helped the women's cross country team to an 11th-place finish out of 25 teams for the final race of the season. She is also the first woman in Manhattan history to break 18 minutes for the course.
The Manhattan men's cross country team finished fifth among a field of 25 teams in the IC4A Championships, also held Saturday in Van Cortlandt Park. Junior Amir Khaghani (Bethesda, MD / Walt Whitman) crossed the line first for the Jaspers, posting a time of 25:54.3 in the 5-mile race and finishing 22nd out of a field of 203 runners.
Junior Chad Maier (Melville, NY / Walt Whitman) finished just two seconds behind Khaghani at 25:56.7 - 24th overall. Teammate John Dove (Monroe, NY / Monroe-Woodbury) completed the race in 26:06.6, giving the Jaspers three top-30 finishers. Senior Drew Reda (Matawan, NJ / Quinnipiac) ran a personal best in Van Cortlandt Park, crossing the line at 26.12.4 and helping the team secure its fifth place finish.
Junior Erin Spadaccini (Wilmington, DE / Padua Academy) also beat her personal record in Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday, finishing the championship race in 18.52.9 and placing in the top 50 overall (second for the women's team). She was followed by junior Caroline Ferri (Garden City, NY / Garden City), who posted a time of 19:05.8 and rounded out Manhattan's top three.
Season Review:
The IC4A/ECAC Championships complete a men's and women's cross country season that saw many successes for Manhattan College.
- In September, both teams won the Fordham Fiasco, which included first-place finishes for Dove and Fajardo, who were named MAAC Runners of the Week.
- A month later, the women's team won its first Metropolitan Championship since 1986.
- And, at the end of October, the teams competed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships, with the men placing second behind perennial powerhouse Iona. Fajardo also placed third in the conference championships.