College Cross Country
Rider at Old Nassau Run
Men 7 of 10, Women 11 of 13
PRINCETON?The Rider cross country teams competed at the Old Nassau Run Saturday, hosted by Princeton University. “If we just focus on what we did, our women did very, very well,” said head coach Bob Hamer, “and we had some guys who stepped up today and did a nice job."
For the Rider men, sophomore Christian Gonzalez (Somerset/Franklin Twp.) finished 11th overall among the 99 runners, first among Rider runners for the second time this year, covering the 8,000m course in 25:53. “Chris was able to carry out the race plan to its effectiveness,” Hamer said. “He got up front with the front pack early and moved up about 10 places in the last 2,000 meters. He's really where we want him to be right now.”
For the Rider women, freshman Heather Giovagnoli (Royersford, PA/Spring Ford) placed 39th overall and for the second time in as many college races placed first among Broncs, 24:02.
Also for the Rider men, senior Matt Dahl (West Keansburg/Raritan) was 40th (27:28) and junior Phillip Capaldi (Woxal, PA/Souderton) (27:31) was 41st. Sophomore Michael Soroko (Kinnelon) placed 44th in 27:50 and sophomore Peter Wandell (State College, PA) was 46th (27:59).
Freshman Michael Linder (White Horse Station/Hunterdon Central) was 51st (28:37) and junior Robert McCullough (Plymouth Meeting, PA/La Salle) was 58th (28:58).
Also for the Bronc women, sophomore Chelsea Callan (Hazlet/Raritan) was 52nd among the 145 runners in 24:41. Senior Megan Crowe (Philadelphia, PA/St. Hubert's) placed 56th in 24:53.
“Overall the results were really good,” Hamer said. “The kids ran where I hoped they would. We had a nice spread one through seven where we were a nice little pack. We're moving forward and I'm excited about that.”
Senior Kelly Wojciehowski (Fair Haven/Rumson-Fair Haven) placed 64th overall in 25:05 and freshman Amanda Quinones (Trumball, CT) was 66th in 25:16, junior Kelsey Kohler (Southampton, PA/Saint Basil's Academy) placed 69th in 25:29 and freshman Kelli Kaelin (Little Egg Harbor/Pinelands Regional) was 70th in 25:33.
Sophomore Ashley O'Brien (Edison/John P. Stevens) was 119th in 27:37 and junior Dominique Carnevale (Oceanport/Shore Regional) was 120th in 27:39. Freshman Kristen Perrine (Brick/Brick Twp.) was 133rd in 28:21 and sophomore Johanna Clarke (Laurelton, NY/Mary Louis Academy) was 142nd in 29:58.
“This is going to be the best women's team we've ever had,” Hamer said.
“I thought our team places would be a bit higher, but we're still a work in progress,” Hamer said.
The Broncs are training until October 3 when they run at Lehigh's Paul Short Invitational. “We have a nice solid training block over the next few weeks and at Paul Short we'll get a test of where we are,” Hamer said. “That race is always great but we haven't run well there in the past. I'm expecting good results this year.”
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