The men’s and women’s cross country teams both secured a fourth place overall finish at the 2024 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Cross Country Championship meet, hosted by The College of New Jersey at Green Lane Fields. Several athletes achieved personal bests and earned All-Conference honors.
The men’s team was led by junior Ryan Pena, who finished first for the Roadrunners and placed 11th overall with a time of 25:54.1. Pena’s consistent season finishes and this performance earned him NJAC Second Team All-Conference. In an email to The Ramapo News, Pena said, “While the team didn’t achieve any personal bests during NJACs we still showed up and fought. I personally had my best NJACs of my college career especially after dealing with an injury from last week. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of my teammates. Cross country is a tough sport and it’s hard to get anything accomplished without a good team.”
Next, senior Mohamed Nidaazzi came in second for the team and 20th overall with a time of 26:56.6, adding to the team score. Sophomore Julian Mignone achieved a personal best time of 27:10.2, playing 29th overall and securing third place within Ramapo. Rounding out Ramapo’s top five were sophomore Brandon Meneses and freshman James Brill, who finished with times of 27:23.8 and 27:42.1, respectively, supporting the team’s fourth-place overall result.
The women’s team matched the men’s fourth-place performance. Senior Zoey Cassavell set a new personal best when finishing first for Ramapo and sixth overall with a time of 23:01.1. Cassavell earned NJAC First Team All-Conference honors. She reflected on the team’s performance, stating “NJACs is always a really exciting meet as it is our conference meet and it’s toward the end of the season so all our hard work shows. As a team we placed 4th and overall it was our best team performance of the season. We had some runners set PRs so that is always exciting!”
Following Cassavell, close behind was sophomore Dale Leonard, who placed second for Roadrunners and seventh overall, also picking up the NJAC First Team All-Conference honor. Sophomore Zoe Gregory posted a personal best with a time of 23:48, placing 17th and finishing third for the team. Freshman Elena Guzman and freshman Jasmin Silva-Vargas completed the women’s top five, with times of 24:00 and 24:54.2 respectively, placing them 22nd and 24th overall.
The NJAC Championship results showcased the Roadrunners’ growth over the season. Now the teams are preparing to compete against a larger pool of regional competitors and aim to finish the season with top performances. The Roadrunners will return to action at the NCAA Regional Championship meet on Nov. 16 at 11 a.m., hosted by Stockton University.
lkelyman@ramapo.edu
Featured photo submitted by Cross-Country, Ramapo Atheletic
