Fordham Men’s Cross Country had a rather strong showing in the season opener on Saturday morning at the Stony Brook University Invitational, finishing third in a field of six teams. Their score of 66 points finished behind a dominant Stony Brook squad with 19 points and Wagner University with 63. They finished ahead of Long Island University (LIU) (113), Sacred Heart (116) and Quinnipiac University (138).

The Rams were led by senior runner Rodolfo Sanchez, who came in with a personal-best time of 19:15:80 in the 6K course, earning him second place in the event. Other top finishers included sophomores Bradford Duchesne and John Corrigan, who earned eighth and 16th place with times of 19:44:70 and 20:07:30, respectively. Graduate transfer Aidan Hickey, junior Darren Croke and sophomore Sean Reidy also managed to finish in the top 40 out of 67 runners.

On the women’s side, the Rams finished fourth out of six. Leading the group was Quinnipiac with a strong 25-point performance. They were followed by Stony Brook (43), Sacred Heart (101) and Fordham (103). The Fordham squad finished ahead of Wagner (135) and LIU (161).

Leading the women was graduate transfer Katarina Birimac, who placed second overall in the 4K course with a time of 14:02:10. She was followed by sophomore Kate Meeks, who finished 22nd, running a 15:22:20. Also for the Rams, sophomores Brenna Sears and Cate Roche placed 32nd and 37th with times of 15:48:80 and 16:03:80, respectively. Junior Alexis Smith, along with sophomores Grace Kenny and Megan McCann, placed inside the top 45 in the field of 81 runners.

In terms of what is ahead for XC, the Rams will be back in action this Saturday, Sept. 7, for the Fordham Fiasco, which will be held amongst the shady pines of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.