BETHPAGE, N.Y. – The Monmouth University men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2026 season with a pair of strong performances at the Adelphi Panthers XC Invite on Friday at Bethpage State Park, highlighted by a runner-up finish from the women's squad and a fourth-place showing from the men.
"I was happy with a lot of things we saw today," said Head Coach Damon Godfrey "The men finished fourth and the women placed second in very hot conditions. It was a good season opener and a valuable opportunity to compete on the CAA Championship course, where we will return on October 31st."
Krissy Sarnicola and freshman Lexi Mizzone led the way for the women with outstanding performances, finishing second and third overall. On the men's side, we showed some encouraging pack-running tendencies that will be important for us as the season progresses.
We are looking forward to heading to Penn State next week and testing ourselves against an elite field.
The Monmouth women totaled 67 points to finish second in the 17-team field, trailing only Cornell's 33 points. The Hawks finished ahead of Iona, which placed third with 78 points, while Bryant (82) and Central Connecticut (123) completed the top five.
Kristen Sarnicola led the way for Monmouth with a second-place individual finish in the women's 6K. The junior from Staten Island crossed the line in 21:29.4, finishing just half a second behind Cornell's Maisie McManus, who won the race in 21:28.9.
Alexa Mizzone followed immediately behind Sarnicola to give the Hawks two of the first three runners across the finish line. Mizzone placed third overall with a time of 21:45.8, finishing more than 10 seconds ahead of the fourth-place competitor. Elaina Rainwater added another top-10 performance for Monmouth, taking 10th in 22:25.3.
Monmouth's final two scorers were Leah Rutledge and Olivia Schweitzer. Rutledge crossed the line 24th overall in 23:34.3, while Schweitzer finished 28th in 23:45.6 to complete the Hawks' scoring group.
The women's team also received strong depth performances from Aleah Lazar and Avery Errico, who finished in 23:53.2 and 23:56.2, respectively. Casey Collins (24:45.3), Jessica Borchert (24:54.9), Erin Vincent (25:19.4) and Ella Burnham (25:38.7) also competed for the Hawks.
On the men's side, Monmouth accumulated 115 points to place fourth out of 16 scoring teams in the 8K. Cornell won the men's team title with 18 points, followed by Iona with 60 and Central Connecticut with 102. The Hawks finished comfortably ahead of fifth-place Adelphi, which totaled 150 points.
Michael Card was Monmouth's top finisher, completing the 8K course in 26:27.4. Card finished 22nd overall and earned 18 team points. Joshua Tejada was close behind, crossing in 26:35.9 to finish 24th overall and second among the Hawks.
Michael McGinnity gave Monmouth a third finisher under 27 minutes, clocking a 26:55.0, while Michael Black followed in 27:03.4. The Hawks' top four runners were separated by just 36 seconds. Aaron Guensch completed Monmouth's scoring five with a time of 27:57.8 as the Hawks reached their 115 points.
Conor Clifford and Devon Piccone finished sixth and seventh for Monmouth with times of 28:19.4 and 28:22.4, respectively. Nathan Vroom crossed in 28:28.4, followed by Noah Klugman in 28:45.7 and Enzo Corona in 28:59.8 to round out Monmouth's competitors.
Godfrey continued "Krissy Sarnicola and freshman Lexi Mizzone led the way for the women with outstanding performances, finishing second and third overall. On the men's side, we showed some encouraging pack-running tendencies that will be important for us as the season progresses."
Following this weekend's season-opener on Long Island, the Hawks will be back in action next Friday when they head to University Park, Pa., for Penn State's annual Spiked Shoe Classic. The women's contest is set to begin at 11 a.m.
The Monmouth coach finished, "We are looking forward to heading to Penn State next week and testing ourselves against an elite field."
