RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Iona Meet of Champions is traditionally the first early-season test for the Manhattan College men's and women's cross country teams. That was certainly again the case on Saturday morning, as the Jaspers ran against some of the top squads in the Northeast at Van Cortlandt Park. Overall, the Manhattan women finished 15th in the team standings, while the men's squad placed 16th.
Running over the same six-kilometer course that they'll see at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and ECAC Championships later this season, the Jasper women were led by Maria Jangsten (Gothenburg, Sweden), who finished 60th in a time of 24:20.76. Alexandra Cappello (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and Meghan Hayes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) ran together for much of the race. Cappello placed 84th in 25:06.48, while Hayes was 86th with a time of 25:06.93. Meghan Marro (Cherry Hill, N.J.) was the next Jasper across the line. She took 110th in 25:41.03. Manhattan's fifth scorer was Shelby Niles (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), who placed 113th in 25:48.72. Rounding out the Jaspers' top seven were Elizabeth Rosenberger (Ramsey, N.J.) (116th, 25:53.30) and Emmy Koskinen (Sodertalje, Sweden) (118th, 25:58.81).
Manhattan collected 453 team points. Host Iona, the 14th-ranked squad in the region, edged Penn 84-86 for the team title, while Brown was third with 89 points. Iona's Hollie Rowland won the individual title in 21:28.55.
On the men's side, Manhattan's top finisher over the eight-kilometer course was Tom Voorheis (Syracuse, N.Y.), who was 69th overall in a time of 26:54.09. Billy Wilkens (Kenmore, Wash.) finished 91st in 27:25.07 with Tom Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) close behind in 92nd (27:26.60). Stephen Chantry (Williamsburg, Va.) placed 111th in a time of 28:09.37. The remainder of the Jaspers' top seven crossed the line essentially together. Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden) was 112th in 28:16.01, followed closely by Greg Perrier (Dix Hills, N.Y.) (113th, 28:16.01) and Salim Corbin (Patterson, N.J.) (114th, 28:20.60).
The Jaspers finished with 475 team points on the men's side. No. 4 Iona, the top team in the Northeast, had the top four finishers and six of the top 10, capturing the team crown with 19 points. The Gaels' Leonard Korir was the individual champion (24:27.95).
Manhattan will be back at Van Cortlandt Park for the Metropolitan Championships on Oct. 7, but first visits Lehigh for the Paul Short Run, which gets underway at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 30.
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