LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40th Anniversary throughout the 2020-21 academic year, continuing its mission to provide student-athletes the opportunity to succeed in both academics and athletics.

The 40th Anniversary Cross Country Team highlights some of the best student-athletes in MAAC history. MAAC Cross Country dates back to 1981 when Iona College captured the first Men's Cross Country title. The 2020 MAAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a possible makeup date in the spring of 2021. For a full statement on the cancellation of fall sports competition, click here.
 
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The following are Rider's honorees on the MAAC 40^th Anniversary Cross Country Teams:

Women

Ulrike Bromme, 1998-2001
Bromme finished fifth at MAAC Championships in 2000 in a time of 18:30.30 to earn All-MAAC honors, a year before finishing ninth on the 3.1 mile course in 19:35.50. She finished 92^nd of 169 runners at NCAA Regional Championships in 2000, before finishing 100^th of 180 runners as a senior in 2001. She also graduated with the Broncs' indoor mile (5:18.13), two-mile (11:44.64), 3000m (10:37.04), 5000m (18:47.51), DMR and 4x800 records, as well as the outdoor records in the 3000m (10:43.24), 5000m (18:22.35) and DMR.

Nicolette Mateescu, 2012-15
Mateescu earned All-MAAC with a third-place finish at MAAC Championships in 2015 and came in eighth in 2014. She placed 12th overall at Lehigh's Paul Short run, covering the 6k course in 22:23, while placing 79th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Cross County Championships, covering the 6k in 21:48.2.

Megan McGarrity, 2013-16
McGarrity finished 2nd at 2016 MAAC Championships, Rider's highest-ever individual finish. She also finished 21st at NCAA Mid-Atlantic Championships in a PR of 21:10.2 in the 6k race. She also won a dual against TCNJ, running a PR 18:24.5 in the 5k, while also winning the Rider Invite with a time of 21:56.7 in the 6.15k. She finished fourth and ran a PR 21:15.5 in the 6k at Lehigh's Paul Short Run. As a junior, McGarrity ran a 22:52.3 in the 6k at the NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Cross Country Championships and ran 22:15.3 at the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference XC Championships in the 6k.

Megan Elgin, 2010-13
As a senior, Elgin placed fifth at the MAAC Championships with a time of 21:42.38 to earn All-MAAC recognition. She also placed second at the TCNJ Classic in the 5k with a time of 18:40.40 and finished sixth at the Fordham University Invitational with a time of 19:24.52. She also placed 10th at the ECAC meet with a time of 18:13.6. Elgin finished 35th at the NCAA Regional with a time of 21:45. . As a junior, she finished 13th at the MAAC Cross Country Championships to earn All-MAAC Honors and placed sixth among 215 runners at the ECAC Championships in 18:35. She went on to finish 80th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. She also graduated as the Rider record holder in the indoor 3,000m, indoor 5,000m and outdoor 5,000m.  As a senior, she added to her excellent running and recorded her first ever sub 5:00 minute mile.  She also held personal bests of 9:53 for 3,000m and 17:12 for 5,000m.

Emily Ritter, 2012-15
Ritter finished in the top six at MAAC Championships in consecutive seasons, finishing fourth in 2014 and sixth in 2015. She earned All-East, finishing second, then the best-ever finish ever for a Bronc, at the ECAC Championships, covering the 5k in 17:46. Ritter placed ninth in the nation in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn Second Team All-America honors. For her banner senior year, she was named Rider Female Athlete of the Year. Ritter earned All-East honors in three different events in 2014-15, for cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. Ritter was Rider's first woman to qualify for the NCAA Track & Field Championships.

Men

Anthony Dentino, 2011-14
Dentino holds Rider's 5K record at Rosedale, 8K record at Princeton and 10K record at Penn State, is a three-time All-East performer and four-time All-MAAC honoree. As a senior in 2014, Dentino earned All-East by finishing 10^th overall at IC4A Championships. He also finished 12^th at MAAC Championships in a time of 25:31.29 to earn All-MAAC recognition. In 2013, Dentino was a medalist at the IC4As, placing 11th of 88 runners and earned All-MAAC honors when he placed seventh at the conference championships. He placed fifth at MAAC Championships at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, becoming the only non-Iona runner in the Top 10. Dentino covered the 8,000 meter course in 24:39.52. He also placed 13^th at MAAC Championships as a Rider rookie.

Chris Gonzalez, 2011-14
Gonzalez won the 2010 IC4A Cross Country Championship Race finishing the five-mile course in 24:52.7. He finished third at the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships and placed fourth overall at the Penn State National that featured top 25 schools, Syracuse and Penn State. Gonzalez finished first at the Fordham Fiasco, the first time a Rider cross country athlete had won an individual race under Head Coach Bob Hamer. He also holds the Rider records in the indoor mile (4:00.84) and the outdoor 1500m (3:42.92). He was the 2011 Indoor Co-Most Outstanding Performer, winning the 800m, placing second in the mile and running the lead leg on the DMR that finished second. Gonzalez earned All-East honors with a fourth place finish in the 1500m at the 2010 IC4A Outdoor Championships, while also earning All-East Honors in the mile at the 2009-10 IC4A Indoor Championships when he placed sixth.

Dave DeJong, 1998-2001
DeJong was a two-time All-MAAC honoree, finishing 13^th in back-to-back years at MAAC Championships in 2000 and 2001. As a senior, he led the pack for most of the season, with three first-place finishes and two second-place finishes for the Broncs. He was 20^th among the 177 runners at the Fordham Invitational, covering the five-mile Van Cortlandt Park course in 27:02.0. He also finished 18^th at the Monmouth Invitational and was 46^th of 269 runners at Lehigh's Paul Short Run. DeJong also earned a pair of top five finishes at MAAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the steeplechase. In addition, he won the indoor mile and placed second in the two mile at the Lafayette Invitational.

Scott Keyser, 1998-2000
Keyser is the Broncs' record holder at the Lafayette 5-mile course and Rider's 5-mile old course. Keyser led the pack for most of his senior season, finishing first overall in his first two races and finished runner-up to only a former NCAA National Qualifier in his third race. He went on to win the Lafayette Invitational, helping Rider to a second-place finish and its first top 15 ranking in the Mid-Atlantic Region. He ended his time at Rider with a 64^th place finish on the 10,000 meter course at District I Championships and ran a career-best 24:57.10 at MAAC Championships to earn All-MAAC with a 10^th place finish.

John Smith, 2004-07
Smith was a three-time All-MAAC cross country finisher and placed 14th overall among the 123 MAAC runners in 2007, covering the 8,000 meter course in 26:07.8 to lead Rider to its highest finish in MAAC competition. Smith set a new Rider record for the Van Cortlandt Park course, finishing 28th with a time of 25:50 on the 5.0 mile course at the IC4A's, closing out his Rider cross country career as the team's top finisher in 23 of 25 career races.