XC Team Shatters School Records at Post Invitational

Brookville, N.Y. - The St. Joseph's cross country teams ran in record breaking times Saturday at the CW Post Invitational.  The ladies' Christine Cristobal and five male Eagles shattered program records on the day, with Mike Lombardi and Brian Wersan staking claim to a new male program best.

The women's team came in fourth place out of twenty complete teams, losing only to Division I's St. John's University and Fordham University, along with Division II's CW Post.  The Golden Eagles beat nine DII teams including St. Thomas Aquinas College, Molloy College, NYIT, Dowling College, Daemen College, Pace University, Queens College, the University of the District of Columbia, and Bridgeport University.

The female Eagles beat their chief Skyline-rival, Mount Saint Mary, by more than a minute per runner by placing five runners before their first runner.  Senior Christine Cristobal's time of 19:39 broke Kerry Tobin's school record of 22:39 set in 2009.  Tobin was the Skyline Champion in 2009, but St. Joseph's top seven women today all surpassed the school record she set three years ago.

The men placed 6th out of 17 complete teams with Fordham winning the meet, followed by Post, Molloy, USMMA and St. Thomas Aquinas.  Teams' finishing behind St. Joseph's included local rivals Queens, Dowling, NYIT and Farmingdale State in addition to teams from as far away as Buffalo (Daemen College) and the University of the District of Columbia. 

Senior Mike Lombardi and junior Brian Wersan (in his first season) had the same time of 27:52, both bettering the school record of 29:58 set by Eric Haun in 2009.  Amazingly, the top five runners from SJC all broke Haun's school record in the Post Invitational.  Haun is the only male in school history to be an All-Skyline Conference runner in his four years at SJC.

The cross country team will travel to Bard College in Annandale, N.Y. for their next meet this coming Saturday.