Fajardo's performance, bolstered by three other top-20 finishes, led Manhattan to a second place team finish in the meet. The Jasper men, led by a fifth-place finish from senior Amir Khaghani (Bethesda, MD / Walt Whitman), also garnered a second place team finish in their five-mile race.
Highlights:
- Fajardo is the first female Jasper to win an individual Met Championship in at least the last eight seasons.
- Freshman Hali Ielfield (Glenfield, NY / South Lewis Central) secured a fourth-place finish in the women's race, clocking in at 18:43.6. Manhattan was the first team to have two runners cross the finish line.
- Caroline Ferri (Garden City, NY / Garden City) and Keeley Hogan (Delmar, NY / Bethlehem Central) rounded out the top 20 for the Jaspers. Ferri finished in 19:31.1, while Hogan came in at 19:41.0.
- Sam Hoagland (Colts Neck, NJ / Colts Neck, Gianna Tinto (Kings Park, NY / Smithtown West) and Grace Campbell (Sparta, NJ / Pope John XXIII Regional) all scored points for the Jaspers, finishing in 31st, 40th, and 45th, respectively.
- Campbell's 21:06.8 finish, as well as Megan Carmody's (Rumford, RI / Bishop Feehan) 21:34.4 and Gabby Fanning's (Cornwall, NY / Cornwall Central) 22:11.2, were all 5K personal bests.
- Khaghani (26:23.8) was one of four Jaspers to finish in the top 20 overall in the men's race. Christian McLaughlin (Allenhurst, NJ / Christian Brothers Academy) finished in 10th, Ryan Tierney (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) in 11th, and Chad Maier (Melville, NY / Walt Whitman) in 18th.
- Freshmen Liam Farrell (Hyde Park, NY / F.D. Roosevelt), Michael Hennelly (Suffern, NY / Suffern) and David Lozipone (Massapequa Park, NY / Kellenberg Memorial) rounded out the top 30 for Manhattan, taking 25th, 26th, and 28th, respectively.
The Jaspers head to the 2018 MAAC Cross Country Championships on October 27 in Colonie, NY at the Crossings. The men's race will begin at 11:00 am, with the women's race starting at noon.