This past Saturday the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams traveled to the famed Sunken Meadow State Park cross country course on Long Island to compete in the Stony Brook University Invitational.
The men’s team, second in this meet last year, knew they would have to run well for the win. This would be an early season test as four other NEC teams would also be at the meet. The NEC preseason polls had Quinnipiac and Monmouth picked as a tie for second in the conference.
The Bobcats won the 10-team meet with 30 points to easily outdistance Marist College in second with 46 points. Rounding out the field was Hofstra (124) in third, followed by Stony Brook (125), Monmouth (128), Sacred Heart (131), Long Island University (150), Wagner (190), St. Joseph’s (285) and Briarcliffe College (320).
The Bobcats were led by sophomore sensations Mike Charron and Jeff Roginielewicz as they crossed the finish line together to take first and second place with a time of 16:25.
Seniors Tom Martin and Greg Toomey were 6th and 7th for the Bobcats in 16:40 and sophomores Todd Raymond and Greg Brink finished 14th and 15th. Freshmen Aaron Seiler continues to impress the team with his strong finishes, rounding out the top as the 7th Bobcat finishers. The team is 10-0 on the season.
The women’s race was also very competitive with the host Stony Brook Sea Wolves taking the title with 56 points. They were followed in second by Hofstra (76), Sacred Heart (81), Monmouth (82), Quinnipiac (108), Marist (114), Wagner (138), St. Joseph’s (263), LIU (264) and Briarcliffe College (284).
Quinnipiac senior captain Carolyn Robin was the Bobcat’s top finisher, taking 5th place in a time of 19:46. Robin was the top NEC conference finisher and will be competitive for NEC Athlete of the Week honors.
Freshmen Lisa Zino had an outstanding race, finishing 19th in 20:48 on the challenging Sunken Meadow course. Danielle Green (26th), Heather Hoffman (28th), and Melissa Jenkins (30) formed a close pack that rounded out the top 5 for the Bobcats. Freshmen Allison Ruggerio and Andrea Rotz finished together to take the 35th and 36th spots.
Head Women’s Coach Shawn Green was impressed with the team. He said, “Carolyn had an outstanding race and showed the conference that she will be a top 5 contender at the championships on Nov. 1st. Lisa showed her outstanding potential and this team will continue to improve as the season progresses.”
The Bobcats return to action on Friday Sept. 19th when they compete at the Monmouth Inivitational at Holmdel Park in New Jersey. This is the site of the NEC championships to be held on Nov. 1.
