Huntingdon Valley, PA: The Centenary Cross Country Men's and Women's teams traveled to Lorimer Park in Huntingdon Valley, PA for the PSU Abington Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 30th. In a meet that had 17 complete Men's teams and 11 complete women's teams, both units improved their team placements. The Men's team raced first and took 14th place of the 17 teams, but were only 17 points out of 13th, and just 8 more points from 12th place. The Women raced second and battled to a 9th place team finish (of 11) but were only 8 points from moving up to 8th.
Men's
In a cool, 59-degree morning mist, the Men's 9:00 am race had 153 runners registered runners across 23 teams. Sophomore Jarod Gayda covered the 8K course in a time of 34:42.01 to take the team lead and to place 52nd. Senior Jared Aponte placed 65th in a time of 36:26.65 while Sophomore Gabe Lentzner notched a 72nd place finish in a time of 38:11.13. Sophomore Roman Carone (39:29.15) and Junior John Triana (39:29.40) ran to 80th and 81st places to round out the top 5. Jibran Uddin (53:54.24) and Junior Travis Austin (54:00.31) placed back-to-back (111th and 112th respectively) as well, supporting the team effort. Coach Regan explained "This was a good test of our ability to race in a large crowd – and, on a traditional style cross country course. The guys faced lots of challenges and rose to the occasion – the team placement speaks to their dedication and growth these last few weeks."
Women's
The Lady Cyclones faced a field of 117 registered runners from 20 different teams in the later 10:00 am start. First year Jillian Ulanowski led the team covering the hilly 6K double loop course that included in-race stream crossings in a time of 31:47.22. Senior Kelly Ann Earrusso had to work through traffic on the weather-narrowed trails for a time of 35:21.66 and 52nd overall place. Junior Emma Darnsteadt earned the third-place team finish (64th overall) in 38:52.71. Junior Carolyn Rosenberg's 46:17.72 earned a 73rd place finish, followed closely by Lena Lutcza in 46:19.23 and Stefani Mizakova with a time of 46:23.45. Coach Regan said "This was the biggest field our ladies faced this year, and we got caught up in some crowded sections early. It's good practice for next week's larger meet and I know they will be doubly motivated to keep improving. This isn't a good course for setting personal bests – it's a chance to work on in-race strategies, and the ladies handled that very well. I'm very pleased with their improved team placement, the competitiveness, and their dedication. I'm looking forward to seeing just how far these athletes can go."
Up Next
The team stays in-state next Saturday (Oct 7) for the NJIT Highlander Invitational held in Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ.
