LINCROFT, NJ – The Monmouth men's and women's cross country team kicked off their along with six schools at the 16th Annual Monmouth Cross Country Kick Off at Thompson Park on Saturday morning.
 
In her first race as a Hawk, freshman Sammi Ragenklint won the women's freshman/sophomore 4K (2.5 miles) race with a time of 14:38.48. Her time was 22 seconds faster than the second-place runner and the second-fastest time of the day between two women's races. Freshman Jennifer Tavares finished third in the race with a time of 15:29.93. Sophomore Keellyn Cummings rounded out the top-five with a time of 15:34.64
 
For the men, sophomore Louis DiLaurenzio finished third in the men's freshman/sophomore 6K (3.7 miles) with a time of 19:22.22. The sophomore had the best finish for the men on the day. Senior Ryan Rafferty had the best finish for Monmouth in the Junior/Senior race with a time of 19:13.17, good enough for tenth overall. 
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
"Overall, I think both squads competed well. This was an excellent early season test to remind us of what racing feels like. The preseason or exhibition time is now over.  The real cross country season starts now.  We're looking forward to putting in some good training and progressing from where we're at. Today we established a great place to build from."
-Monmouth head coach Mike Nelson 

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Overall, the Blue & White had ten runners finish in the top-ten in the four races.
-Eight Hawks started off their Monmouth career in the meet.
-Of the seven schools that participated, Monmouth finished in the top-three in each race, including finishing first in the Women's freshman/sophomore race.
 
NEXT UP
-The Hawks will host the 25^thAnnual Henry Mercer Invitational at Holmdel Park on September 21. Races will begin at 9:30 AM