Eagles Top All Competitors at Bard Invitational

Annandale, N.Y. - Chalk up two team titles for the Golden Eagles men's and women's cross country team this week as both squads won their respective races at the Bard Invitational. The men improved from their second place finish last year and the women defended the title they earned last year. 

The top finisher for the men was Brian Wersan with his second place in 28:34. The Eagles took the next two places with Jon Afanador (third) and Mike Lombardi (fourth). Paul Milazzo finished in seventh and the scoring was completed by Kevin Sanders in 13th place.

The team dominated the race with seven runners in the top 18 of the 101 person race. Their 24 points easily outpaced host Bard College (83 points) and Hunter College (86). The Eagles faced a total of 17 teams, twelve of which were complete squads.

The women were led by Christine Cristobal and her second place (19:22) finish out of the 122 competitors in the 5K. The Lady Eagles dominated the front of the race with nine team members finishing in the top 20 of the race. AnnMarie Zigrosser ran her best race of the year placing fourth, followed by Gillian Goodwin (seventh), Maureen Quinn (ninth), Caitlin Ryan (12th), Lauren Waka (16th), Mary Cipriano (17th), and then two freshmen, Sam Maurice (19th) and Brittany Guttieri (20th).

The ladies scored 34 points to beat Skyline rival Mt. St. Mary who scored 70 points. There were 14 complete teams and four incomplete in the race.