The Berkeley College New York and New Jersey continued their 2015 seasons on Saturday afternoon, competing in the Bard College Invitational in Annadale-on-Hudson, NY. The meet featured many notable institutions, and all four Knights teams did a good job competing and overcoming unseasonably warm conditions.
The New York women's team was the lone Knights squad to score on the day, as they placed 12th out of 12 institutions that had enough runners to score. Berkeley's finishers included newcomers Elizabeth Cocco (29:11), Nelchiarde Sylvain (30:19), Amelia Davis (31:26), Ilham Nagi-Hamed (31:38), and Kristina Whitlock (42:29). On the men's side for the Knights,Berkeley's Hironori Kanzaki (35:1, 7:05 mile pace), Majustice Wilson (36:29, 7:21 mile pace) and Omari Alleyne (44:33, 8:58 mile pace) once again put in solid runs and held the 1-2-3 spots for their squad. Head Coach Adam Rosen gave both of his teams credit following the meet.
"These student-athletes are putting in the hard work and have made a real commitment to these programs and to their performances" Rosen said. "I anticipate that we'll continue to see more great things from this group - and I'm very enthusiastic to see how the rest of the schedule plays out."
New Jersey's women's finishers included Alicia Morales (27:55), Massiel Portoreal (30:12), and Megan Montanez (33:27). The state's men's team got a tremendous effort from Jeison Martinez, as the standout finished 38th amongst all runners with a time of 30:29. Also crossing the tape were teammates Sean Smith, Leandro Contreras, and Nickson Rodriguez. Following the meet, Head Coach Michael Lincoln gave his thoughts.
"The seven student-athletes that competed for us today gave their best efforts out there on a warm day on a challenging course," Lincoln said. "I'm proud to see them work so diligently to represent their school. We're looking forward to the NJIT Invitational on October 3."
Union College (N.Y.) dominated the day's action, as both the institution's men's and women's teams solidified Bard Invitational victories.
All four of Berkeley College's cross country teams return to action on Saturday morning, October 3, as they will participate in the NJIT Invitational at Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ. Both the men's and the women's meets get underway that day at 11:00am.