RIVERDALE, N.Y. – On a hot, humid Saturday morning at Van Cortlandt Park, the Manhattan College men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2014 season at the Fordham Fiasco/Ed Joyce Memorial. It was also the Jaspers' first race under new Head Coach Nick McDonough.
The day began with the women's race, which was held over 5000 meters. Milena Stoicev (Nis, Serbia) was Manhattan's top finisher. She placed seventh overall in a time of 19:56.06. Following close behind was Alexandra Cappello (Scarsdale, N.Y.) in 11th place. Her time was 20:03.14. Competing in her first race for Manhattan, Alexa Roda (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the third Jasper across the line. She took 22nd in 20:40.04. Katie Saroka (Blue Point, N.Y.) grabbed 31st place with a 21:06.93 clocking, while another newcomer, Kelly Gorman (South Amboy, N.J.) finished 32nd in 21:18.46. Rounding out Manhattan's top seven were Alyssa Windle (Redlands, Calif.) (33rd, 21:24.56) and Kaitlyn Rose Smith (Effort, Pa.) (34th, 21:25.89).
Manhattan ended up fifth in the team standings with 103 points. Rutgers, led by individual winner Paige Senatore (18:58.53), took the team title with 43 points.
In the men's race, the Jaspers were led by Shane Beyer (Brick, N.J.), who finished 14th overall in 27:57.00. Freshman Steven Forte (Bellemore, N.Y.) also had strong race in his collegiate debut. His time of 28:25.40 was good for 21st place. Stephen Chantry (Williamsburg, Va.) and Anthony Colasurdo (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) crossed the line one after another. Chantry was 23rd (28:49.00) and Colasurdo placed 24th (28:50.97). Manhattan's fifth finisher was Tom Quackenbush (Slingerlands, N.Y.), who secured 30th place with a 29:19.15 clocking. T.J. Harrington (Middletown, N.J.) (32nd, 29:27.68) and Kevin O'Brien (Attleboro, Mass.) (33rd, 29:31.28) completed the Jaspers' top seven.
With a score of 112, Manhattan took fourth in the team standings. Navy had 12 of the first 14 runners and took first place in the team standings with a perfect score of 15.
After a week off, the Jaspers return to action on Saturday, Sept. 20, when they head to Holmdel, N.J., the site of this year's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships, for the Monmouth Invitational.