The Berkeley College men's and women's cross country teams participated in Caldwell University's Cougar Chase Invitational in Caldwell, NJ. The Knights' men's squad finished eighth amongst nine participating schools, while Berkeley's women finished seventh amongst the eight schools that competed.
For Berkeley College's men, the Knights were led by Anthony Argueta who completed the 5K course in 18:17.57, a time good for 13th overall. Aaron Griffith was the second Knight to cross the finish line, as he recorded a finish time of 23:09.50. That time was good for 52nd overall. Xavier Sanchez put forth a hearty effort in his return to the course, as he finished 53rd overall with a time of 23:13.15. Jordan Albert and Stanley Jeanty solidified 57th and 58th place finishes with times of 23:52.76 and 23:53.36, respectively, and Colin Burke and Marc Pharon rounded out things for the Knights, as Burke crossed the finish line at 31:31.14 (66th place overall), and Pharon completed the course in 31:31.40 (67th overall).
As for Berkeley College's women's team, newcomer Mira Brodin put forth an outstanding performance in her debut for Berkeley, as she finished 32nd overall at 24:33.80. Pamela Andrade crossed the finish line at 28:02.27 (52nd overall), and Amanda Ekornes earned a 57th place finish with a time of 29:46.98. Melissa Ramirez, Marilyn Contreras, Megan Montanez, and Kimberly Acevedo recorded 63rd, 65th, 70th, and 73rd place finishes, respectively. Following the meets, Berkeley College Head Coach Adam Rosen had plenty of positive things to say about all of his student-athletes.
"This was a very challenging course for our runners today, but they all put forth another great effort in what was our strongest turnout of the 2016 season," Rosen said. This was a very spirited day for us, and it was great to see all of the runners supporting one another and gelling as a team. There is plenty of positive momentum for us as we get set to compete in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship meets on the final weekend of October and the USCAA National Championships in November."
Berkeley College's men's and women's cross country teams will shoot for conference championships on Sunday, October 30. The HVIAC conference championship meets will take place at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton, NY.