Eagles Are Golden at CSI Invitational
Bronx N.Y. — The St. Joseph's Cross Country Program is only improving with every passing week as they positively vanquished their opponents at the College of Staten Island Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday. Both the men's and women's teams took the gold on the sunny spring day, finishing first with a remarkable 74 points and 24 points, respectively.
Brian Wersan's (Holbrook, N.Y./ Sachem North) second place finish out of a whopping 187 runners on the 8K course earned him his fifth Skyline Runner of the Week award this season. Jon Afanador (Medford, N.Y./ Patchogue-Medford) also finished strong, placing 13th in the sea of runners, setting a six-minute pace and winning himself a spot on this week's Skyline Honor Roll. The day was truly a team victory though as SJC athletes John Antonacci (Blue Point, N.Y./ Bayport-Blue Point) and Rich Schimmel (Lindenhurst, N.Y./ Lindenhurst) were also among the first twenty to cross the finish line.
Brittany Guttieri (Oakdale, N.Y./ Connetquot) was the first athlete to cross the finish line out of the 155 runners on the 6K course, effectively blowing away her competition and leading her team to a first place victory. The golden Guttieri also secured her fourth Skyline Runner of the Week honor of the season with her performance. Guttieri's teammates were no slackers either as Lauren Waka (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./ Lake Ronkonkoma), AnnMarie Zigrosser (Bayport, N.Y./ St. John the Baptist) and Caitlyn Ryan(Farmingville, N.Y./ Sachem East) placed 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively, while a total of six SJC ladies were among the top 15 to cross the finish line.
The next challenge for the SJC cross country conquerors will be the NJIT Highlander Invitational at Branch Brook Park in Newark, New Jersey.