The men and women of cross country endured a sweltering summer morning at Van Cortlandt Park this past Saturday, but emerged with crisp results.
Fordham’s men won the event for the first time since 2015 thanks in large part to the performance of their young talent, and the women of cross country took home second place with similar showings.
Although Manhattan College junior Jared Lautenslager was the leading individual with a time of 27:47.60, the Rams won the three-team men’s circuit with 22 points and had five runners place in the top 10. More impressive was the fact that each of these five runners were running in their first collegiate race.
Freshman Sean Reidy placed second overall with a time of 27:59.80. The Fordham Prep product was directly followed by fellow freshmen John Corrigan, Jack Boerger and Matthew McCabe.
Corrigan’s third-place finish came with a time of 28:05.40, and Boerger and McCabe’s fourth- and fifth-place efforts came with the times of 28:30.30 and 28:45.90, respectively.
Additionally, freshman Tadael Mihret placed eighth with a time of 29:28.20, and Staten Island native freshman Jake Frayler finished 17th in 31:55.20.
Over on the women’s side, Manhattan took the team overall win with 20 points, and also had the leading individual. Andria Scaglione placed first in the 5K race with a time of 19:31.30.
Fordham placed second out of the three competing teams and were led by freshman Meredith Gotzman. The Maryland native placed third thanks to a time of 20:09.70. The freshmen Kate Meeks placed ninth in 21:34.80 and Sarah Zahaykevich finished 11th in 22:00.30.
The freshmen Brenna Sears and Megan McCann as well as senior Clodagh McGroary were not far behind. They came in 13th, 14th and 18th respectively.
Both the men and women of Fordham received stellar showings from their young athletes. Their development will be paramount as the season moves towards more grandiose competitions. Cross Country will compete next at the Jasper Fall XC Invite on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Twin Ponds on the Farm in Montgomery, N.Y.
