On October 14, Stevens’ men’s and women’s cross country team traveled to compete at the Border Battle meet at Dream Park in Logan Township, NJ. The day was filled with several personal bests for many of the members of both teams as they made the most of the favorable conditions of the course.
The men’s team finished seventh overall and finished second out of 11 teams from the Mid-Atlantic Conference, behind DeSales. Leading the way for the Ducks was fourth-year student Liam Concannon, who finished 14th out of 278 on the 8k course with a time of 25:24.0. The top five finishers placed within 1:39.7 of each other accruing a total of 241 points. All 14 runners on the men’s team set new season personal records, and 12 of them also set new lifetime personal records.
The women’s team finished 22nd overall and finished fifth out of ten teams from the Mid-Atlantic Conference. Fourth-year student Jacqueline Lulaj led the pack for the Ducks finishing 80th out of 263 on the 6k course with a time of 23:55.0. The top five finishers placed within 1:24.0 of each other with a total of 579 points together. During this meet, seven runners achieved a personal best for the season, with six of them also reaching a new lifetime record.
John Kolibab, Head Coach of Stevens’ Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, commented on the fantastic day of cross-country running all around. He stated that the entire team had been looking forward to the meet and noted that Dream Park would be “the quickest course we run all year.” With the great number of personal bests set during this meet, Kolibab stated that the teams “will be brimming with confidence heading into championship season starting in two weeks.”
The Border Battle marks the end of the regular season for the teams. The next meet, the Mid-Atlantic Conference meet hosted by Misericordia, will take place on October 28th in Dallas, Pennsylvania.
