The cross country team finished third out of seven schools competing in the 9th Annual Kickoff Meet at Thompson Park in their first meet of the season.
The men ran a 6k while the women competed in a 4k. Senior Amanda Eller prevailed as the women’s top runner finishing eighth in her race with a time of 14:57 while the men’s top runner, freshman Domenick D’Agostino, also finished a mere 19 seconds behind first place securing an eighth place spot in his race with a time of 19:47.4. Graham Huggins-Folizof finished in tenth place with a time of 19:54.5.
In their second race, the men’s cross country team took on an 8k between 15 schools while the women ran a 5k between 17 schools. Leading MU’s men’s cross country team to third place were sophomore Khari Bowen and D’Agostino who finished in seventh and tenth overall. Even though the men earned third place in the overall run, they finished in first between all Northeast Conference (NEC) opponents.
The women were not as fortunate as they placed ninth in the overall meet and fourth between NEC rivals. Once again, Eller scored as MU’s top runner placing 18th overall and having a time of 18:51.
For the team’s third meet, they traveled down the road for Monmouth’s 18th Holmdel Invitational. Eller was the first MU woman to cross the finish line placing fifth overall at 18:53.8. Although many may feel rather proud finishing at 18:53.8, Eller considers another accomplishment her greatest achievement of the race.
“I am certainly proud to be the third ever of Monmouth women to finish under 19 minutes at Holmdel and I would have to say that I am more proud of that,” Eller goes on, “But I also am happy with my Holmdel time because it is a course best for me there.”
Close behind was her teammate, senior Kelsey Maher, who came in seventh overall with a time of 19:16.2.
Head coach Joe Compagni is very proud to see the women uniting after a tough first two races. “In cross country, that [running in a pack] is key to a team’s success. If you have one star and then your second and third runners are further back, you just aren’t very successful. It’s all about how close you can be together and how close you can be to the front,” Compagni says. “One of the things the women did was they improved on that a good deal from our first meet to our third meet so they are going in the right direction. It’s just a matter of getting back in race mode after not racing all summer and part of it is working on hanging close to your teammates and lone goal for Monmouth. Their record now sits at 5-2-1 with conference games starting on Friday as they get ready to square off against Quinnipiac.
Although a win would have put the Hawks in a comfortable position, Clark still thinks heading into conference play, “the sky’s the limit.”
As much as a preseason All- American mention means, Clark would rather be recognized after the season for his play. In order for that to happen, the team must do well, and Clark puts the team first and foremost. He is excited
not letting a lot of people get between you.”
It is clear how the men have been able to perfectly execute running in a pack, especially since they placed first out of five schools at Holmdel. Bowen was MU’s first runner to cross the line and finished second overall in the race. His time, 26:39.70, was a 40-second improvement from last year’s Holmdel meet. Compagni believes that Khari’s potential is just beginning to take off.
“He was a talented and successful runner in high school,” Compagni said. “Freshmen year is the hardest because the distance changes and the races get more competitive so now he has that behind him. Plus he has done a lot of work so I absolutely think he can improve.” Close behind Bowen was senior Sean Hartnett who placed seventh overall with a time of 27:22.4.
The cross country team has competed in all of their home meets for the season, the last being Holmdel. While being on the road for the rest of the fall may frighten other athletes, the cross country team is looking to make the best out of their situation. “We knew last spring that our championships we’re all going to be on the road,” Compagni states. “We love competing at home as much as we can, but they know that our success is going to be determined on the road.”
The team was supposed to travel to New York this weekend but coach Compagni notes the team does not need to compete because everyone who needed to race competed in the Holmdel meet. Having a week off will more than likely work in their favor rather than work against them.
“We need a week to just train and to put some work in so when we got to Lehigh next week, we’re not tired from racing a lot,” Compagni said. “I wouldn’t call it a recovery week, we just get a break from racing.”
The cross country team will travel to Lehigh University the weekend of September 28 for their next meet.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Photography
