BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Monmouth University men's and women's cross country teams closed out their 2026 seasons on Friday at the NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Regional, hosted by Lehigh University at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.
The Monmouth women placed 16th in the 28-team field, totaling 441 points in the 6K race. The Hawks finished just two points behind 15th-place Maryland and placed ahead of Navy, Lafayette, Saint Joseph's and several other regional programs. No. 3 West Virginia captured the regional championship with 19 points, followed by No. 24 Penn State with 83 and No. 29 Princeton with 105.
Junior Emily Simko capped a strong season by leading the Hawks across the finish line. Simko placed 34th overall with a time of 20:46.8, gaining three positions over the closing portion of the race. The Horsham, Pa., product previously finished second overall on Oct. 30 at the CAA Championships.
Kristen Sarnicola was Monmouth's second finisher, placing 55th overall in 21:06.7, while sophomore Payton Campbell crossed just two spots later in 57th with a time of 21:08.9. The trio gave Monmouth three runners among the first 57 finishers in a field featuring many of the top programs in the region.
Sophomore Elaina Rainwater was fourth across the line for the Hawks, finishing 139th in 22:14.5. Junior Olivia Schweitzer completed Monmouth's scoring five with a time of 22:43.6, placing 161st overall after gaining three positions late in the race.
Monmouth's five scorers averaged 21:36.1 over the 6K course. Leah Rutledge followed Schweitzer in 22:46.5, while Aleah Lazar rounded out the Hawks' seven-runner lineup in 23:04.0.
The regional performance concluded a memorable season for the Monmouth women, who recorded the best CAA Championship finish in program history two weeks earlier. The Hawks placed second at the conference meet at Bethpage State Park, their best finish at any conference championship since winning the Northeast Conference title in 2000.
On the men's side, Monmouth placed 23rd in the 26-team field, finishing with 661 points. The Hawks tied Loyola Maryland in total points but earned 23rd place through the tiebreaker. No. 17 Villanova won the men's regional title with 39 points, followed by No. 14 Georgetown with 56 and Princeton with 75.
Freshman Michael McGinnity once again paced the Hawks, finishing 81st overall and 79th among scoring runners with a time of 31:36.6 in the 10K. McGinnity gained two spots over the closing stretch of the race.
Freshman Jack Ockenden followed in 32:22.5, while senior Tomas Barry finished in 33:09.3.
Junior Conor Clifford was Monmouth's fourth scorer with a time of 33:28.7, and freshman James Giordano completed the scoring five in 33:43.9. Monmouth's five scorers averaged 32:52.2 over the 10K course.
Senior Drew Bowker crossed in 34:15.6, while freshman Michael Black completed Monmouth's lineup in 34:28.1.
Friday's NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional brought the 2026 cross country campaign to a close for both Monmouth squads, who will now turn their attention to the indoor track and field slate. The indoor competition schedule for the Hawks will be announced in the coming weeks.
