Roadrunner records personal best as cross country competes at DeSales Invitational

On Saturday, Oct. 8, the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the DeSales Invitational in Center Valley, Pa. It was a good day for Ramapo and one Roadrunner even posted a personal best.

The men’s team finished ninth overall in the invitational. The team tallied a total of 191 points in the 8k race with a total time of 2:17:28 and an average time of 27:29. Senior Jason Mercado led the way for Ramapo, finishing 15th overall and first for the Roadrunners. His time was 26:29.10 and this finish gave him 14 points.

Coming in second and third for Ramapo were juniors Ian McCauley and Mohamed Nidaazzi, respectively. McCauley finished the race in 27:13.1, good enough for 30th in the entire race resulting in him receiving 29 points. Immediately following him was Nidaazzi, who finished with a time of just 0.5 seconds longer — 27:13.6. Nidaazzi ended with 30 points.

Rounding out the top five for Ramapo were freshman Ryan Pena and sophomore Kevin Bramley. Pena placed 61st overall in the race with a time of 28:03.8 and Bramley finished with a time of 28:29.3, good enough for 81st overall.

The women’s team finished eighth overall in their 6k race with a total of 261 points. The team’s total time was 2:08.44 with an average time of 25:44. Leading the way for Ramapo was junior Suzanne Zaugg, who finished sixth overall. Zaugg crossed the line with a time of 23:15, a new personal best for her. This time gave her a score of 6.

Finishing second for Ramapo was sophomore Zoey Cassavell. She crossed the line less than two minutes after Zaugg, ending with a time of 24:46.4 and a point total of 37. Crossing shortly after her was sophomore Jane Wagner. Wagner finished 43rd in the race, clocking a 24:58.3 time, giving her 41 points.

The fourth and fifth-place finishers for Ramapo crossed the line 30 seconds within each other. First, freshman Francesca Cartagena finished 109th in the race. She ended with a time of 27:42.5. Following her was junior Avalina Michel, finishing 117th with a 28:02.7 time.

Next up for the men’s and women’s teams is the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 15. The race will take place at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Conn. at noon.

 

bschmid@ramapo.edu

Photo courtesy of Matt Murphy