UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Monmouth University cross country teams continued their 2026 seasons at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Friday, as the women's squad earned a fourth-place finish in the 6,000-meter race while the men competed in the 5.2-mile event.
The Monmouth women totaled 95 points to place fourth in a competitive field that featured Syracuse, Penn State and Pittsburgh in the top three. The Hawks' 21:28.38 average time among its top-five scorers was the fastest 6k average in program history.
"I was really happy with the way we competed today, especially on the women's side," said Head Coach Damon Godfrey. "The women ran at an elite level, posting the fastest five-runner average in program history and beating multiple teams ranked ahead of us in the Mid-Atlantic Region, including Big Ten member Maryland. Emily Simko led the way with a top-10 performance against a national-caliber field, and I was really proud of how our entire group competed."
Syracuse captured the team title with 32 points, edging Penn State's 36, while Pittsburgh finished third with 90 points, just five points ahead of the Hawks. Maryland totaled 124 points to earn fifth place
Emily Simko led the Hawks with an eighth-place individual finish, completing the 6K course in 21:00.2. Simko moved up four positions over the second half of the race after sitting 12th at the 3,100-meter checkpoint.
Sophomore Payton Campbell crossed the finish line just line in 21:14.3 to take 13th overall, followed closely by Kristen Sarnicola, who placed 15th in 21:17.7, giving the Hawks three runners among the first 15 finishers.
Lexi Mizzone rounded out a strong lead pack for Monmouth, finishing 20th overall in 21:30.3, while Elaina Rainwater completed the Hawks' scoring five with a time of 22:19.4, placing 50th overall and accounting for 40 team points.
Behind the scoring group, Leah Rutledge crossed the line in 22:37.8, followed by Olivia Schweitzer in 23:13.2. Avery Errico (23:22.4), Aleah Lazar (23:22.6), Casey Collins (23:49.1), Jessica Borchert (23:55.7) and Erin Vincent (25:34.2) also represented the Hawks in the women's race.
On the men's side, Monmouth finished eighth with 249 points in the 5.2-mile race. Syracuse swept the first five scoring positions to post a perfect team score of 15 and claim the meet title. Pittsburgh followed with 55 points, while Penn State took third with 94.
Godfrey continued, "On the men's side, we were hit pretty hard by illness this week and were definitely shorthanded, but our guys still competed hard and fought through it. Mikey McGinnity showed tremendous promise as our first finisher today, especially as a freshman."
McGinnity paced the Hawks, finishing 53rd overall with a time of 27:28.6. The rookie moved up one position over the closing portion of the race and was credited with 42 team points.
A tight group followed McGinnity for Monmouth. Tomas Barry crossed the line in 28:00.6, just ahead of Joshua Tejada, who finished in 28:01.1. The duo placed 72nd and 73rd overall, respectively.
Aaron Guensch was Monmouth's fourth finisher, recording a time of 28:17.5, while freshman Michael Black completed the scoring five in 28:49.2. Black moved up one position over the final section of the course.
Noah Klugman finished sixth for the Hawks in 29:17.7, followed by Nathan Vroom in 29:53.0 and Devon Piccone in 30:27.6.
The Hawks will return to action on Friday, Oct. 2 in Bethlehem, Pa., for Lehigh's annual Paul Short Run.
We're looking forward to having a few weeks away from competition now and using this time for an important training block," Godfrey finished "We have a lot of momentum to build on as we prepare for Paul Short on October."
