Wersan and Guttieri Post Record Breaking Times at LIU Post Invitational

Brookville, N.Y. — St. Joseph's College was certainly the star of the show at Saturday's LIU Post Invitational as both the men's and women's cross country teams made great strides for the Golden Eagle program, sweeping this week's Skyline Conference honors.  Both Brian Wersan (Holbrook, N.Y./ Sachem North) and Brittany Guttieri (Oakdale, N.Y./ Connetquot) registered record breaking times in their 8K and 5K races, respectively.

Wersan was the first Division III runner to cross the finish line with a staggering time of 26:10, a performance that concurrently earned him his third consecutive Skyline Runner of the Week honor and another place in the program's record books.  Nick Diaz (Hauppauge, N.Y./ Hauppauge), following in his teammate's footsteps, posted a time of 28:18 in this race — the first 8K of his collegiate career — and took home his third Skyline Rookie of the Week honor. The men's team ranked eight out of 15 Division II and III teams with 170 points; LIU Post took first place with 34 points.

Gutierri led the women's team as the first Division III runner to cross the finish line with a time of 19:04, breaking an SJC course record and winning the Skyline Runner of the Week award for the third time this season.  Most impressively however was Gutierri's ability to break her own record, as her time clocked in 3 minutes and 49 seconds faster than her time last year on the same course. Freshman Kelly Roberts (Stony Brook, N.Y./ Ward Melville) proved to be quite a contender in Saturday's 5K, the first of her collegiate career, finishing with a time of 21:39 and taking home the Skyline Rookie of the Week honor.  The women's team finished third out of 17 Division II and III teams with a score of 64 points.  The Lady Eagles were bested only by LIU Post (54) and St. Thomas Aquinas (63).

The Golden Eagles will race again this Saturday, September 21, at 12:45 at the Bard Invitational in Annandale, N.Y.