Consistency is an art, and Fordham’s cross country team took another step towards “mastery” this past weekend at the Jasper Fall XC Invite. The annual Montgomery, N.Y. event saw the men’s and women’s units finish third in their respective fields.

The men placed third out of 11 teams. Junior Steven Zucca led the charge both literally and figuratively. The Ohio native finished first in the 8K race with a time of 24:35.7. Zucca took third place at last year’s Jasper function, but was able to finish atop the 114-man totem pole this time around. All told, there were five Fordham men in the top 20 racers. Senior Colin Flood and freshman Nicholas Grabarz took home 11th and 12th with times of 25:49.7 and 25:58.0, respectively. Junior Justin Lombardi ran for a time of 26:14.3 and finished 16th overall. Freshman Ben Borchers continued his successful campaign, placing 19th with a time of 26:23.2.

The Fordham women finished third out of eight teams. They had five competitors finish in the top 20. Senior Alexandra Thomas placed eighth in a field of 87 and registered a time of 22:39.0. Sophomore Caroline McDonagh was not far behind. The Bronx native placed ninth with a time of 22:56.8. Junior Marin Bogulski (23:20.6), along with seniors Taylor Mascetta (23:48.8) and Nathania Tan (23:39.6) also placed within the top 20 finishers, cementing a successful morning on the 6K course.

The Jasper Fall XC Invite was a chance to gain both consistency and momentum before Oct. 7’s Metropolitan Championships. Both the men’s and women’s side of Fordham Cross Country flexed their ability to “stay the course” this past weekend. Only time will tell if their efforts to establish consistency will result in championship glory.