Men's and Women's Cross Country Competes at NJIT Challenge

NEWARK, N.J. – Seniors Paul Milazzo (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Connetquot) and Kelly McNamee (Glendale, N.Y./Mary Louis) were the lead runners for the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's and women's cross country teams as they competed in the NJIT Highlander XC Challenge on Saturday afternoon at New Jersey Institute.

Milazzo finished in 57th place overall clocking in a season-best 29:26 for the 8K course pacing the Bears to an 18th place team finish out of 21 scoring teams.

McNamee followed up her strong performance a week ago covering the 5K course in 22:58 to finish in 70th overall and leading the Lady Bears to an 18th place team finish out of 19 teams.

For the men, sophomore Thomas Rushin (Ocoee, Fla./Ocoee) was the second Bear to cross the line, clocking in at 32:03. Senior Joe Mendez (Glendale, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) shaved nearly two minutes from last week to finish in third in 41:15. Senior John Moore (Glendale, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and sophomore Anthony Texter (Ridgewood, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring five finishing in 48:48 and 51:09, respectively.

Senior Melissa Morrice (Middle Village, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) finished the 6K course in 25:32, good for a 101st place finish. Junior Kristin D'Chiutiis (Brooklyn, N.Y./Scholars Academy) concluded the race recording a time of 27:17 which placed her 125th. Junior Lauren Conter (Glendale, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) concluded the meet with a time of 29:24 and was followed by freshman Karen Hernandez (Elmhurst, N.Y.) who finished fifth for the Lady Bears with a mark of 29:53.

The Bears and Lady Bears return to action next Saturday, October 12th taking part in the College of Staten Island Invitational at Cloves Lake Park. The race is set to begin at 10 a.m.