NEWARK, NJ– The Saint Peter's cross country team turned in a strong showing at the Metropolitan Championships Saturday morning at Branch Brook Park, highlighted by ten personal bests across the men's and women's squads. Freshman
Earl Hart led the Peacocks with a top-20 finish, pacing the men in the 8k, while the women competed in the 5k.
St. Thomas Aquinas senior Kyle Koenig dominated the race, clocking in a time seven minutes faster than second place, crossing the finish line in 15:16.00.
Hart led Saint Peter's with a time of 25:34.7, finishing 16th overall in the 74-runner field and cutting nearly a full minute from his previous best. Fellow freshman
Sebastian Lopez also posted a personal record, trimming more than 30 seconds off his previous mark to place 35th in 26:08.1.
Gerardo Quaglia was the third Peacock across the line, finishing in a personal-best 26:18.0 — more than a minute faster than his time at last year's METS Championship.
Matthew Martinez made his season debut in 26:28.0 (46th), while
Nicholaus Michael (27:36.0, PR) and
Johan Aparicio (27:45.0, PR) also contributed strong runs. Rounding out the scoring for Saint Peter's were
Jack Cabrera (28:13.0, PR),
Christopher Hernandez (28:27.0, PR), and
Brian Yeager (29:16.0).
Seton Hall claimed the men's team title with 52 points, followed by Hofstra (57) and Marist (69). Saint Peter's placed eighth overall with a team score of 181.
On the women's side,
Shirleysa Rivas led the Peacocks with a 49th-place finish, clocking 19:51.0 — a two-minute improvement from her time at last year's METS Championship.
Paulina Nunez followed in 23:32.0, a full minute faster than her previous best. Also competing for Saint Peter's were
Dezoara Diaz (26:49.0) and
Shanelle Vilson (30:26.0, PR).
Hofstra's Isabella Spagnoli captured the women's individual title in 17:15.0, while Seton Hall's Caitlyn Fahy (17:39.0) and Honey Strosnider (17:39.0) rounded out the top three. Columbia took the women's team title with 44 points, followed by Seton Hall (46) and Hofstra (77).
UP NEXT
The Peacocks return to action next Friday, October 17, at the ECAC/IC4A Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, NY.
