Men’s and Women’s cross country both took home fourth overall finishes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships on Saturday afternoon in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Championship season is in full swing for the Hawks as they raced in the MAAC Championship for their first championship race of the fall. The women’s 6k was led by freshman Sammi Ragenklint who finished the race seventh overall with a time of 22:12:01. This was also good for first among all the freshman racers and she was named the Women’s Most Outstanding Rookie for her performance.
“Sammi’s performance was outstanding. She competed like an elite veteran and she’s only a freshman,” said Head Coach Mike Nelson.
Finishing second for the Hawks in the women’s race was freshman Jenny Tavares. While having the Hawks second best time, she finished 29th overall running a 23:20:46. The freshman was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team for finishing fifth among all freshmen in the race.
Rounding out the top five for the blue and white were juniors Alyssa Repsher, Melanie Pfennig and Natalie Tavares. The women earned 128 points which was good enough for fourth place. The Hawks finished behind Siena who scored 81 points, Marist who scored 53 points and Iona who finished in first place for their fourth straight year.
The men also left the MAAC championship in fourth place. The highest finish for the Hawks was senior Ryan Rafferty who finished with a time of 26:33:64 which was good for 21st overall in the men’s 8k. Rounding out the top five for the Men were sophomores Carrington Retzios, John Spinelli and senior Dan Maida.
The men finished the MAAC Championship with 105 points falling behind Manhattan who earned 101, Siena with 80 and Iona who won the championship with 15 points. Iona have won the MAAC Championship for Men’s cross country for the 29th straight year.
“Overall I was impressed with the way we competed today. Both the men’s and women’s teams executed our race plans and produced solid results,” said Nelson. “The MAAC is a competitive cross-country conference and our student athletes were mixing it up.”
There are ten teams in the MAAC in cross country so Monmouth coming in fourth in both the men’s and women’s races puts them in the top half of the conference.
“Our team depth was very encouraging. We competed well today but there is a lot to be excited about for the future,” said Nelson.
The Hawks will race in their 2nd championship on November 15th. The blue and white will be taking part in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships which is hosted by Lehigh University. After that they will have their final race of the season, the IC4A D1 Championship on Nov. 23 at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York.
PHOTO TAKEN by Karlee Sell
