Men's Cross Country September 03, 2011 Monmouth Sports Information

MUXC OPENS WITH TWO SECOND PLACES FINISHES

LINCROFT, N.J. - The Monmouth University men's and women's cross country teams opened up its season with second place finishes, respectfully, at the MUXC Kick-Off at Thompson Park, Saturday morning. The men's squad was paced by freshman Khari Bowen (Monroe, N.J./Monroe Township), who set a rookie record, while Jennifer Nelson (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat [Ocean County College]) lead the way for the women's squad, which ranked a program-best 12th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Regional Preseason Poll.

"We wanted to get in a controlled, hard effort running the first half of the race in groups and the team executed that plan fairly well," said head coach Joe Compagni. "We are looking forward to the weeks ahead; training and measuring our progress as we get ready for bigger meets."

In the men's race, Albany ran away with first place, registering 17 points, followed by the Hawks who finished with 77 points. Saint Francis (N.Y.) claimed third with 95 tallies trailed by Wagner (105 points) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (130 points) in fourth and fifth, respectfully. LIU crossed the finish line in sixth with a total of 177 points while Seton Hall (187 points), NYU (196 points) and Drew (231) rounded out the nine team field.

Bowen crossed the finish line first for the Blue and White, eighth overall, in his first collegiate race, registering a time of 19:22.0, which set the new standard for freshman. The rookies' time also set the course record on the 6k (3.7 miles) track at Thompson Park which has been utilized for the last three seasons. Senior Dan Collura (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) finished 11th, with a time of 19:43.3 followed by junior Sean Hartnett (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee), who posted a time of 19:58.2, good for 19th. A trio of Hawks in seniors J.J. Caffarelli (Lauren Springs, N.J./Highland Regional), Evan Mydlowski (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton East) and junior Jeff Ascough (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) finished within three second of one another, posting times of 20:06.7, 20:08.3 and 20:09.5, respectfully. Freshman Bryan Broderick (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank Regional) rounded out the top-seven for the Hawks with a time of 20:10.1, good for 27th overall.

The Great Danes also claimed first place in the women's race, compiling 19 points followed by the Hawks who claimed 55 tallies. Wagner took third with 110 points while Saint Francis checked in at fourth with 125 points. Seton Hall (155 points), Georgian Court (168 points) finished fifth and sixth, respectfully, while NYU (177 points), Saint Francis (206 points) and Drew (244 points) rounded out the 10 team field. Long Island did not finish the 4k (2.5 miles).

Nelson took second overall, the second best finish in program history, with her time of 14:34.1. Junior Amanda Eller (Delmont, N.J./Millville) finished seventh overall with a time of 15:06.9, while classmate Kelsey Maher (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) was the third Hawk to cross the finish line, 12th overall, in 15:26.9. Junior Emily MacEwen (South Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) claimed 18th with her time of 15:49.4, trailed by sophomore Mackenzie Roche (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) who registered a time of 15:58.8, good for 20th. Senior Deanna Bishop (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland) rounded out the top-seven for the Blue and White with her 36th place finish in 16:38.0.

MU returns to action next weekend, September 10th, at the Fordham Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York. The men's race starts at 10:30 a.m. while the women's race begins a half hour later.

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