Complete Results
ALBANY, N.Y. – Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden) continued his solid season, finishing sixth overall and first among Division I runners to lead the Manhattan College men's cross country team to fifth place at the UAlbany Invitational from the University at Albany's campus course on Saturday morning. Led by Alexandra Cappello's (Scarsdale, N.Y.) 14th-place finish, the Jasper women captured fourth as a team.
Rojeras notched a time of 25:50.4 in the 8000-meter race. Lucas Bittigkoffer (Neulingen, Germany) also had a strong showing. He was 16th overall (and 10th in the Division I placings) in 26:21.8. Manhattan's next three finishers crossed the line consecutively. Greg Perrier (Dix Hills, N.Y.) finished 32nd (26:56.6), Kevin O'Brien (Attleboro, Mass.) took 33rd (26:57.2) and Salim Corbin (Patterson, N.J.) placed 34th (26:57.7). Rounding out the Jaspers' top seven were Anthony Colasurdo (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) in 41st (27:21.8) and Sean Wheat (Brielle, N.J.) in 46th (27:43.8).
Manhattan collected 121 team points to finish fifth overall. Middlebury, one of the top squads in Division III, placed five finishers in the top eight and won the team title with 22 points. A separate team score was also maintained for the Division I institutions at the meet. The Jaspers took fourth among the Division I programs behind Vermont, Siena and Albany.
In the women's race, Cappello led the way for the Jaspers for the second straight week. Her time over 5000 meters was 19:44.7. Milena Stoicev (Nis, Serbia) ended up 24th with a time of 20:18.3, while Alyssa Windle (Redlands, Calif.) and Katie Saroka (Blue Point, N.Y.) crossed the line virtually simultaneously. Windle placed 27th in 20:27.1 and Saroka was 28th in 20:27.5. Janie Turek (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) completed Manhattan's top five, recording a 20:40.8 clocking to place 29th. Elizabeth Rosenberger (Ramsey, N.J.) (32nd, 20:56.5) and Johanna Petruski (Toms River, N.J.) (33rd, 21:10.6) were also among the Jaspers' first seven finishers.
Middlebury also captured the women's team title, placing seven runners in the top 10 to earn 24 points. Manhattan just edged Adelphi 122-124 for fourth place in the team standings. Among Division I squads, the Jaspers placed third behind Marist and Vermont.
The Jaspers now have two weeks off until hosting the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships on Friday, Nov. 1. All of Manhattan's remaining meets will be held at Van Cortlandt Park.