BRANCHBURG , NJ--Head Coach Patty Rivas took some time to reflect on the season as the team heads into regionals this weeeknd @ White Clay State Park, Newark, DE and hosted by Delaware Technical Community College. Patty stated "I am very excited about where we are at as a team right now. It's our first season with a full men's team, and they have worked tremendously hard all season to get to where they are now. I am very optimistic about how we will do at Regionals, and then, hopefully Nationals. We've also got Tessa, another strong runner. She has continued to improve all season, and I know she will be ready to go at Regionals on Oct. 28. Overall, the season has been one of my best since I started coaching. I have a solid group of runners who work hard day in and day out. They are passionate and it shows in their race results. I can only hope the XC program continues on this path and continues to attract top tier runners."
Coming off the men's first place team finish at last weekend's Brookdale Invitational on Saturday, October 14th. and the first ever National Ranking (#4) for the Lions according to USTFCCCA, the men are looking for a strong performance at Regionals this weekend and then at Nationals next weekend, November 4th at Westfield, MA.
At the Brookdale Invite, the men finished with an average time of 16:53. Sophomore Robert Spies led the way for the Lions as he finished with a time of 15:53. He was good for second place out of 48 runners. Sophomore Jake Thoden finished in 6th place with a time of 16:27, freshman Frankie Arevalo took 9th place with a time of 16:43, sophomore Collin Diedhiou placed 17th with a time of 17:03, and freshman Luis Monterroso finished 25th with a time of 18:17. On the women's side, freshman Tessa Senel finished in 8th place with a time of 21:43.
Congratulations to the Cross Country team on a phenomenal season and good luck at reginals!
Next up is Regionals on October 28th @Del Tech.