PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Monmouth University men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up competition at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, hosted by University of Maryland Eastern-Shore, Saturday afternoon. Rookie Khari Bowen (Monroe, N.J./Monroe Township) paced the men's squad, setting the new freshman standard in program history with his 56th place finish in the 10k (6.2-mile) course, while senior Jennifer Nelson (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat [Ocean Country College]) completed the meet, a school-best 41th, on the four-mile track.
The NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Region includes 37 teams from five states including New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and Washington D.C.
"Both teams raced well today" said head coach Joe Compagni. "The men's team is definitely making progress and need to continue racing with confidence, while the women were just a little off where we wanted to be."
The MU men finished 19th out of the 25 competing teams at the event, its best finish since 2008. Bowen, who claimed 56th place, moves into seventh all-time with his 32:02 performance. Senior Dan Collura (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) claimed 94th place with his time of 32:59.6 followed by sophomore Seth Robbins (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley), who crossed the finish line in 33:53.5. Senior classmates Garth DeBlasio (Millstone, N.J./Allentown) and Ryan Mulligan (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) finished five-tenths of second apart, posting times of 34:02.1 and 34:02.6, respectively. Jeffrey Ascough (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) was the next Hawk to finish the 10k, as the junior recorded a time of 35:07.1, followed by sophomore Dakota Dalzell (Margate, N.J./Atlantic City), who rounded out MU's top-seven registering a time of 35:16.9.
Georgetown took the men's team championship.
The women's race, which was extended to be over four miles long rather than the originally scheduled 6k (3.7 miles), was won by Villanova and Georgetown. The Blue and White finished 16th out of the 29 teams that raced, the highest finish of all Northeast Conference squads competing in any regional.
Nelson finished race in 41st with a time of 23:06.5, the best result at the Mid-Atlantic Championships in school history. Junior Amanda Eller (Delmont, N.J./Millville) finished in 23:32.2 in 59th overall, followed by classmate Kelsey Maher (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) in 88th with a time of 24:12.0. Emily MacEwen (South Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) was the next to cross the finish line for the Blue and White, posting a time of 24:38.6, while sophomore Lucia Montefusco (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur) finished in 25:03.3. Senior Juliet Smith and sophomore Mackenzie Roche (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) rounded out the Hawks' top-seven finishing three seconds apart with times of 26.16.9 and 26.19.9, respectively.
"Jen came through the 5k in 17:51 and did not back down competing against some of the best distance runners in the nation," added Compagni.
Monmouth returns to action next weekend at the ECAC & IC4A Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. The women's race begins at 11:30 a.m., while the men kick-off at 12:15 p.m.
