Cross Country Turns in Fourth and Fifth-Place Finishes at the Highlander Invitational

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Newark, NJ| The St.Joseph's College (L.I.) women's and men's cross country teams placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at the annual Highlander Invitational hosted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology at Branch Brook Park on Saturday afternoon.

The women's team was led by three-time ECAC Metro Region Runner of the Week Erin MacDonell, who placed third and broke an event-specific program record with a 18:43.5 5k time.

MacDonell, who was the highest-placing NCAA Division III runner at the event, finished ahead of all 27 participating Division I runners and was beaten only by a pair of runners from Division II's St. Thomas Aquinas.

Finishing behind MacDonell was freshman Meagan Haviland (20:02.5) who took 17th and senior Amanda Sprague (21:02.5) who finished 21st.

Junior Ryan Haun powered the men in their fifth-place finish with a 8k time of 27:25.1; good for sixth place among Division II, Division III and junior college runners.

Senior James Dachille took 13th place (27:54.7) and sophomore Nick DeLuca finished in 15th place (28:44.9).

The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, October 14 when they host the 18th Annual St. Joseph's Invitational at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park, NY. The women's race begins at 12:00 pm and the men kick off at 1:00 pm.