Bronx, NY – Juniors Kyle Mueller and Ryan Mitchell both earned All-East honors to lead the Monmouth men at the 109^th IC4A Championships.Mueller ran 25:44.1 on the famous Van Cortlandt Park 5 Mile course to finish 15^th in the IC4A Championship Race, with Mitchell just a few steps behind at 25:49.5 to finish 17^th. Both had earned All-East honors here in the University Race, Mueller last year and Mitchell in 2015.In Monmouth's first appearance in the IC4A Championship Race, the team finished 9^th of 25 schools with 252 points.
Third for the men and 65^th overall in the 200+ runner field was sophomore Henry Sappey. Sappey's time of 26:43.4 is more than 90 seconds faster than what he ran here as a freshman. Fourth for Monmouth and 80^th overall was senior Jake Howell, running 26:52.4. The Hawks' fifth man was sophomore Ryan Rafferty (27:01.6). Sixth and seventh for the Hawks were junior Matt Farrell (27:18) and senior Robert DeFalco.
The Monmouth women were led as they were most of the season by junior Amber Stratz, who ran 19:25.4 today to take 79^th in a field of more than 210 athletes. Senior Allie Wilson, All-East here a year ago, was a few spots back, running 19:36.7. Freshman Amanda Dwyer ended a strong first season for the Hawks by running 19:40.4 to finish 3rd for the team. Senior Danielle Leavitt had one of her best races of the year, finishing 4^th for Monmouth in 19:45. Fifth for Monmouth was freshman Kyra Velock in 19:46.7. Sixth and seventh for the Hawks were freshman Michelle Daniels (20:05.9) and sophomore Dayna Luma (20:19.4).
Monmouth's women finished 18^th of 30 schools.
NOTES AND QUOTES
"The men's team beat a few schools who were in front us at MAACs or other meets and the women did as well, with some big improvements for both from early in the season here or previous years. But we were looking for much more as far as our team finish in the new meet format. Our seniors did a lot for us this year. Coach Tarello and I thank each of them for their all dedication to the program and their teammates, as well as to all the families who supported us at every meet this year." –Monmouth head coach Joe Compagni
-Last year Monmouth's women won the ECAC Division I University Race as a team, earning three All-East finishes and tallying 108 points.
-This was the first year of the single race format, combining what were the ECAC Div. I and IC4A University and Championship Races into one larger Championship Race for each gender.
-The IC4A is the longest-running cross country and track championship in the United States, with a 100+ year history and over 100 member schools.
-The ECAC includes more than 80 Division I schools, located from Maine to Virginia.
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-The All-East finishes for Mueller and Mitchell give the Hawks 53 All-East honors in cross country in the last 22 years at the ECAC Div. I and IC4A Championships.
-Mueller's time of 25:44.1 and Mitchell's time of 25:49.5 are 2^nd and 3^rd in school history on the Van Cortlandt Park 5 mile course, behind Felix Olivo. Olivo ran 25:26.7 here in 1998 to finish 3^rd here and earn his third straight All-East honors.
-The Monmouth women had a top-5 average time of 19:38.8 on the 5K (3.1 mile) course, which is #10 in school history in the Hawks' 30+ races on the Van Cortlandt Park course.
-The Monmouth men had a top-5 average time of 26:26.2 on the 5 mile course, which is #3 in school history in the Hawks' 30+ races on the Van Cortlandt Park course. 
-Dwyer's time ranks her 11^th in school history for Monmouth freshman at Van Cortlandt Park, while Velock's time is 14th in Hawks' history for freshman at this course.
UP NEXT
Monmouth will open the indoor track season at home on Dec. 1-2 with the OceanFirst Bank Center Collegiate Classic.