Results
Queens, N.Y. - (Oct. 18, 2009) - On a day when the weather seemed more wintry than fall, the Fordham men's and women's cross country teams won team championships at the 2009 St. John's Fall Festival Invitational at Cunningham Park.
The men won the team competition for the seventh straight year, defeating Hofstra in the NCAA Division I team competition. The Rams finished with 22 team points, thanks to having five of the top six finishers in the race, to 34 points for the Pride.
On the women's side, a Fordham runner finished first, second and third as the Rams finished with 22 points, ahead of St. John's (34) and Hofstra (79).
Clifton Hilario won the men's 5K race in a time of 16:56.56, just edging out teammate Kevin Fitzgerald at the tape as Fitzgerald placed second in a time of 16:56.86. Paul Szczepaniak was two seconds behind the top two runners, taking third for the Rams (16:58.67) while Julian Saad finished fifth overall (17:05.31) and Casey Barrett sixth (17:08.69).
On the women's side, Brigid Moriarty covered the 4K course in a time of 15:28.26, ten seconds ahead of teammate Kerri Gallagher who placed second in a time of 15:38.99. Sheena Parand was third overall (15:53.98) followed by Ashley Davis, who placed eighth (16:21.25), and Nako Nakatsuka, who finished ninth (16:40.46).
Other Fordham men finishing in the top 15 included Matt Collins (seventh - 17:09.35), Sam Stuart (eighth - 17:10.97), Rich Grandelli (tenth - 17:11.42), John Korevec (11th - 17:12.39), Patrick McDonough (12th - 17:19.80), Tim Hartnett (13th - 17:22.40), Nick Synan (14th - 17:31.82) and Stephen Donnelly (15th - 17:34.26).
Finishing among the top 15 for the women were Mairin O'Connor (tenth - 16:40.46), Christina Machado (13th - 16:56.49), Dana Mitchell (14th - 16:59.79) and Kim Naples (15th - 17:08.63).
The Fordham men's and women's cross country teams will next be in action on Saturday, October 31st, as they compete at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championships to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, beginning at 11:00 AM (EST).
