Holmdel, N.J. - The Monmouth University women's and men's cross country teams finished third and fourth, respectively, at the 17th Annual Monmouth Invitational, Saturday morning at Holmdel Park. The women's top-five finishers recorded an average time of 19:17.2 which is the program's best average in over 20 years at racing at Holmdel Park, while the men's team recorded an average of 27:40.5 on the hilly, five-mile course, good for third all-time. The event had over 300 athletes that competed which is the largest Monmouth Invitational in the last 10 season.
"We know Holmdel Park is not where we are going to run our fastest times and that it is more about competing and getting near the front of the race," said head coach Joe Compagni. "The women really worked together very well today and helped each other through the tough spots of the race and the men are learning how to do that. Both the men and the women are getting stronger every week."
Quinnipiac took first in the women's race, which featured 16 schools including 10 from the Northeast Conference, totaling 43 points followed by Rutgers who finished with 71 tallies. The Hawks registered 93 points for third followed by NEC foe Sacred Heart in fourth with 101 points. East Stroudsburg took fifth with 121 points while Robert Morris (167), Wagner (204), Mount St. Mary's (230), Central Connecticut State (237) and Bryant (265) rounded out the top-10.
For the third consecutive week, senior Jennifer Nelson (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat [Ocean County College]) finished first for the Blue and White taking third overall with a time of 18.23.9, which sets the Monmouth record on the 5k (3.1 mile) course, besting her own time of 18:38 which she set last season. Junior Kelsey Maher (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) finished second for MU, 17th overall, posting a time of 19:24.2 followed by classmate Emily MacEwen (South Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) who finished 3.5 seconds later in 22nd place. Junior Amanda Eller (Delmont, N.J./Millville) crossed the finish line in 19:31.1, 26th overall, followed by sophomore Mackenzie Roche (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) who took 29th with a time of 19:39.2. Senior Juliet Smith (Freedom, Pa./Freedom Area) and sophomore Marissa Felicetti (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) rounded out the top-seven for the Hawks, finishing with times of 20:41.4 and 20:46.4, respectively.
East Stroudsburg took first in men's five-mile race, posting 63 points followed by Sacred Heart who claimed 73 points. Mount St. Mary's 127 points was good for third followed by the Hawks who were six points behind in fourth. St. Francis (N.Y.) and Central Connecticut finished fifth and sixth, respectively, totaling 137 and 145 points. Wagner (177), Quinnipiac (178), Felician (192) and Bryant (233) rounded out the top-10 in the field of 14.
Freshman Khari Bowen (Monroe, N.J./Monroe Township) was the first Hawk to cross the finish line, registering a time of 27:10.4, which is good for second in school history for a rookie at Holmdel Park, three seconds off the top mark for a newcomer. Senior Dan Collura (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) crossed the finish line 22nd overall with a time of 27:34.1 followed by junior Jeffrey Ascough (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) who finished in 27:46.0, good for 30th overall. Freshman Bryan Broderick (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Regional) and senior Ryan Mulligan (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) finished in 32nd and 34th with times of 27:55.8 and 27:56.4, respectively. Senior Garth DeBlasio (Millstone, N.J./Allentown) finished in 28:03.0, while classmate Evan Mydlowski (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton East) rounded out the Hawks top-seven with a time of 28.42.3.
MU returns to action at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University on Friday, September 30 at 10:00 a.m.
