Fordham Men’s and Women’s Cross Country traveled up to Montgomery, New York and the Twin Ponds on Farm on Sept. 25 for the Jasper Invitational. While this was technically the Rams’ third meet of the year, a few key runners made their season debuts in rewarding fashion. The men’s team finished in first place and the women’s team took home fifth.

Led by senior Brandon Hall, the Rams got off to a hot start in his first meet of the season. Hall seized first place in the men’s varsity 8K with a time of 25:09. He was followed closely by sophomore teammate Steven Zucca, who crossed the line in third place in 25:19. The next Ram finisher, junior Colin Flood (25:58), also made his season debut count, finishing ninth.

The men’s roster secured the team victory with strong finishes from junior Ryan Fahey in 16th (26:20.7) and freshman Rodolfo Sanchez in 18th (26:24.3). Since team scores in cross country are calculated by adding the team’s top five individual results together, Fahey and Sanchez played an instrumental role in locking up the men’s first win of the season. The Rams’ final score came out to 47 points, enough to beat second-place Rider University (61) and third-place Manhattan College (76). 

On the women’s side, the team took home fifth overall in the varsity 6K. Senior Bridget Alex was once again the Rams’ top finisher, finishing 11th in 22:50. Alex was joined in the top 20 by teammates sophomore Maddy Kopec in 13th (22:54) and junior Taylor Mascetta in 19th (23:17). Sophomore Marin Bogulski (24:02) and graduate student Germaine Harbaugh (24:05) rounded out the Rams’ top five.

The Fordham squads also had some promising finishes in the men’s and women’s College Division races. In the women’s college 6K, junior Nathania Tan took first with a time of 23:58 and fellow junior Emmy Longmore claimed third place in 24:54. In the men’s college 8K, sophomore Samuel Wilcox finished in second place in 27:07.

Fordham Cross Country will be back in action at the 2021 Metropolitan Cross Country Championship, hosted at Van Cortlandt Park on Friday, Oct. 8.