Fordham Cross Country continued their fall campaign this past Saturday, hosting “Fordham Fiasco” at Van Cortlandt Park. All things considered, the competition illustrated clear signs of Ram progress that are certainly worth highlighting.

Both the men’s and women’s teams finished third in their respective fields of seven. Cross Country took a step in the right direction in this regard, especially considering the fact that last weekend’s results at the Stony Brook Invitational were not as crisp. The men placed fourth out of six squads and the women completed the afternoon fifth out of seven squads.
The competition may have looked different at Van Cortlandt Park, but Fordham’s efforts paid immediate dividends in the standings.

Individually, the men were led by freshman Ben Borchers and junior Justin Lombardi. Borchers ran the 8K course in 27:40.2 and finished 18th. Lombardi was not far behind, clocking in at 27:40.4, good enough for 19th. Freshman Matthew Febles also enjoyed “the fiasco.” He placed 23rd with a time of 27:55.7.

On the women’s squad, sophomore Caroline McDonagh had a banner day on the 5K. The Bronx native finished seventh with a final time of 19:41.4. Senior Alexandra Thomas placed 14th and completed the race with a time of 19:57.7. Sophomore Madeleine Ryan (21st), senior Taylor Mascetta (25th) and senior Nathania Tan (36th) also performed valiantly and helped the team find their way to a third place finish overall.

The cross country team will look to build on what was a “fantastic fiasco” this Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Jasper Fall XC Invite in Montgomery, N.Y.