Men’s and women’s XC both have spectacular runs

Hosted by Stockton University on September 21, the Osprey Open took place in Galloway, NJ, where the male Ducks had a phenomenal day.

In a eight kilometer (8km) race, Stevens had 17 runners all out to do their best. Leading the Stevens men’s cross country team to a fourth-place finish Saturday, senior Jake Catalano set an 8km best, finishing fifth out of 210 runners. With a 5:19 (minute:second) mile pace, Catalano completed the 8km course in a time of 26:25 to lead the way for the Ducks.

Stevens’ first and fifth place runners were only separated by 1:17 and the first and seventh runners were only separated by 1:29 in the first race of the season. All runners outperformed with how close they were in the timed section of the race.

Senior Dylan Peters was the second Duck to reach the finish, crossing the line in 27:05. He finished just 13.8 seconds outside of earning a top-15 medal. Next was junior PJ Gunther, who used a 5:29 mile pace to finish 23rd overall. 

Sophomores Trevor LaDue (27:31) and Robby Russo (27:43) were the conclusion of the top five. This led the Stevens entire team to take fourth place out of 21 schools in the Osprey Open.

On the same day, in Galloway, NJ, the women Ducks had a six kilometer (6km) course and were ready to conquer the best they could.

Leading the Ducks was sophomore Trinity Lundemo, who finished fifth out of the 210 runners. She led the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s cross country team to a sixth-place finish Saturday at the New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Championships. This was absolutely outstanding as there were also 21 schools participating.

At a 6:36 mile pace, Lundemo completed the 6km course in a time of 24:36 to lead Stevens’ seven runners.

Freshman Rachel Pinho, at a 6:43 mile pace, completed the course in 25:04 and finished 13th. She qualified to earn a top-15 medal. Sophomore Erin Miceli finished third for the Ducks, reaching the line in 25:32 to finish 20th as Stevens collected three top-20 finishes.

Senior Claire Tantillo finished fourth for Stevens, reaching the finish in 26:08. Then, sophomore Caroline Corr hit the line in 26:29 to finish 51st.   Stevens’ first and fifth place runners were separated by 1:52, which extremely helped the women’s team climb the standings.

The 17 male runners finished fourth overall, with an average of 27:13 per 8 km, whereas the 7 female runners finished sixth overall with an average of 25:34 per 6 km. A fantastic day for all runners and participants.