On This Date presented by Belmont Realty: Cross Country Wins Metropolitan Championships in 1987, 1992, & 2018

On This Date Presented by Belmont Realty
 
With the 2020 fall sports season canceled by the COVID-19 outbreak, we at Fordham have decided to dig back through our archives and provide our fans with content on some of the outstanding teams and student-athletes who have graced Rose Hill over the years.
 
October 12, 1987 – (Bronx, N.Y.) – In the third edition of the Women's Metropolitan Cross Country Championship at Van Cortlandt Park, the Fordham Rams captured their first team championship as well as having their first individual winner.
 
Fordham had six runners in the top 11 finishers to post a score of 26 points, followed by Manhattan in second (50) and Rutgers in third (66).  LIU Brooklyn was fourth (119), with the remaining teams being Columbia (127), Wagner (159), Fairleigh Dickinson (182), St. John's (198), NYIT (Inc.), Seton Hall (Inc.), C.W. Post (Inc.), and CCNY (Inc.).
 
Individually, Fordham's Jeanine Radice came away with the individual crown with a winning time of 18:15.51, while teammate Patty Nelson was third in 18:45.09.  Kelly Gallivan (18:56.89), Erin O'Connell (19:00.20), Maureen Paonessa (19:05.67), rounded out the top ten finishers in sixth, seventh, and ninth, respectively.
 
Nancy Gunning was just outside the top ten in 11^th in 19:15.0 with Christina McGory as the remaining competitor in 63^rd (24:53.96)
 
 
October 12, 1992 – (Bronx, N.Y.) – For the sixth straight season, the Fordham women's cross country team won the Metropolitan Championship at Van Cortlandt Park.
 
In the same way the string began in 1987, the 1992 edition saw Fordham win the team and individual titles.  The Rams scored 38 points with Rutgers in second at 53 points.  Other competing teams were Manhattan, Seton Hall, Columbia, St. John's, Wagner, Fairleigh Dickinson, Iona, and Fairleigh Dickinson.
 
Leading the way for the Rams was superstar Lauren Gubicza, who defended her Metropolitan crown with a championship and school record time of 17:34.54, shaving 43 seconds of her 1991 winning time.  The record still remains Fordham's top cross country time ever and would last for 10 years as the championship record before Rutgers' Julie Culley clocked in at 17:21 in 2002.
 
With Gubicza, Fordham placed six of the top 14 finishers on the day.  Stephanie Balkcom came in seventh at 19:34.82 with Suzanne Gould in ninth (19:42.58), Ann Cullagh in 10^th (19:57.64), Julianne Welby in 13^th (19:59.11), and Diane Gilliam in 14^th (20:08.78).
 
Other runners for the Rams included Karen McAuliffe (32^nd – 21:10) and Adrienne Cooney (45^th – 21:59.58).
 
 
October 12, 2018 – (Bronx, N.Y.) – Women's Results | Men's Results | Women's Photo Gallery | Men's Photo Gallery | Highlights - It was a historic day for the Fordham cross country teams at the 2018 Metropolitan Cross Country Championship as junior Ryan Kutch took home the individual title in the men's race and both the men's and women's squads placed first overall as a team for the first time in program history.

It was the fifth straight year that the gold medal winner came from the Rams as Kutch completed the five-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in a time of 25:24. Kutch joins former champions Thomas Slattery ('17), Brian Cook ('16), Jonathan Annelli ('15) and Quincy O'Connor ('14).   

Right behind Kutch were freshman Brandon Hall who took third place in 26:12 and Cook who finished fourth in 26:20. Also earning medalist honors were Sean Sullivan, who finished ninth and Patrick Donahue, who placed 14th.

Fordham won the team title with a total score of 30, followed by Manhattan (69), Rutgers (78), Columbia (80) and NJIT rounded out the top five with a score of 120.

Senior Angeline Grebe was the top finisher for Fordham in the women's 5K, placing second in a time of 18:20.1. Also medaling for the Rams were Abigail Taylor, who finished fifth in 18:47.9, Katarzyna Krzyzanowski placed sixth in 18:55.0, Laurel Fisher and Sydney Snow finished eighth and ninth with times of 19:07.5 and 19:10.1, respectively.  Kate McCormack finished 11th in 19:19.4, with Blake Elwood in 12th (19:24.1), Bridget Alex in 15th (19:33.3), Sarah Daniels in 16th (19:35.5) and Germaine Harbaugh in 19th (19:47.0).

Fordham won the team championship with a total score of 30, followed by Manhattan (62), Columbia (84), Seton Hall (84), and St. John's rounded out the top five with a score of 139.