RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Championship season got underway for the Manhattan College men's and women's cross country teams on Friday afternoon, as the Jaspers gathered in Van Cortlandt Park with other schools from the New York City area for the annual Metropolitan Championships. And the Jaspers were up to the challenge of championship competition. The Manhattan men finished fifth overall, while the women's squad secured seventh place.
Billy Wilkens (Kenmore, Wash.) led a solid team effort on the men's side. Wilkins finished 29th overall, completing the 8000-meter course in 27:04. Anthony Colasurdo (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) and Tom Voorheis (Syracuse, N.Y.) crossed the line in 31st and 32nd, respectively. Colasurdo was clocked in 27:15, while Voorheis ran a time of 27:18. Finishing just four seconds back in 34th place was Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden). Tom Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) secured 38th place in 27:26. Rounding out Manhattan's top seven were Zack Price (Warwick, N.Y.) (41st. 27:39) and Salim Corbin (Patterson, N.J.) (42nd, 27:40).
The Jaspers' top seven finished within 14 places of each other and were separated by just 36 seconds. Overall, Manhattan had 164 team points. Columbia placed eight runners in the top 13 to win the men's title with 22 points.
The women ran a 5000-meter course, one kilometer shorter than they'll see later this season at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships. Manhattan's top finisher in the women's race was Maria Jangsten (Gothenburg, Sweden), who placed 28th in 19:39. The next Jasper to cross the line was Meghan Hayes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in 40th place (20:03). Alexandra Cappello (Scarsdale, N.Y.) posted a time of 20:18, which was good enough for 46th place.
Just as the Manhattan men finished as a group, the women did the same. The rest of the top seven was separated by seven seconds. Elizabeth Rosenberger's (Ramsey, N.J.) 20:37 clocking placed her 54th, while Shelby Niles (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) took 57th in 20:39. Alyssa Windle (Redlands, Calif.) was next. She finished 59th in 20:43, followed one second later by Janie Turek (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) in 61st place.
Manhattan finished with 225 team points. Columbia won the women's title, as well, collecting 37 points.
This was the Jaspers' last competition before the MAAC Championships. Manhattan will take three weeks off before returning to Van Cortlandt Park on Oct. 28 for the conference meet.
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