NEWARK, N.J. – The Manhattanville College men's and women's cross country teams produced some solid performances on Saturday as six Valiant runners set personal bests at the Technology Cross Country Invitational, hosted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology at Branch Brook Park.
The men's team finished seventh out of 15 Division II/III teams with 192 total points and also placed first among four D-III squads. The women's team sent only four runners to the race and as a result did not score.
Sophomore
Katie DiCola (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) was the top performer for the Manhattanville women's team, as she took 15th place among 150 D-II/III runners and 16th out of 165 total competitors. She crossed the line in 19:45.48, posting the best 5K time of her career and the seventh-fastest in program history, including the second-fastest time since the program was reinstituted in 2007.
DiCola was not the only Valiant to set a new personal best on Saturday, as her three Valiant teammates also posted the best 5K times of their respective careers at NJIT. Senior
Catherine Weiner (Mount Kisco, N.Y./Fox Lane) took 45th place with a time of 21:24.26, and she was followed closely by freshman
Veronika D'Aragona (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) in 52nd place at 21:48.10. Sophomore
Lauren Limato (Mount Vernon, N.Y./The Ursuline School) also cracked the top-100 with a time of 24:02.94 that placed her 94th among D-II/III competitors.
The highlight of the men's race came from senior Austin McGlone, who finished fifth out of 121 Division III runners and seventh among 133 overall runners. The senior's 8K time of 26:22.88 is the third-fastest of his Valiant career and the fourth-fastest time in program history, and now gives him four of the top-six 8K times ever by a Manhattanville runner.
Classmate Matt Goidell had a good showing as well for the Valiants, earning a spot in the top-25 with a time of 28:37.35 that placed him 24th among D-II/III runners and 33rd overall. The time is the fastest 8K time of his career by nearly a full minute, besting his time of 29:24.18 at last year's Middle Atlantic Conference Championships.
Fellow senior Peter Rizzo took 44th place among D-II/III competitors with a time of 30:07.94. Senior Malcolm Winter finished in a career-best 32:02.73 to place 71st, followed by freshman J.T. Scapperotti in 83rd place (a season-best 33:17.08) and senior Evan Winston in 108th place (36:27.27).
The Valiants have one more tune-up on the schedule before the upcoming MAC Championships, as the team will return to the course on October 17 at the Saint Joseph's (L.I.) Invitational at Sunken Meadow Park.
