Cross Country Picks up High Finishes

The frontrunner for the women this meet was Hackett, finishing in seventh place with a time of 20:14;17. Strides behind her was freshman Katie Sacker, clocking in with a time of 20:38;88 for a ninth place finish. Sophomore Madeline Cronan and junior Remy Ball were Catholic’s next two over the line, with times of 20:51;41 and 21:27;88, respectively.

The Cardinals finished in third place overall with 81 points, just behind Ursinus College and Philadelphia College. They were the top DIII finisher at the meet.

While they do not have a meet for another two weeks, the women’s cross country team isn’t just standing around. Hackett said the team is going to run a Road Race Group this Saturday, giving the proceeds to charity.

The women’s team is also taking advantage of this free time to tackle a number of goals they have for upcoming meets. “We are going to work on staying within 30 seconds of each other after the first mile,” said Hackett. “We are also going to work on our speed and strength individually.”

One the men’s side, the team was led yet again by senior Paul Santuoso, finishing with a time of 28:30.01 in sixteenth place. Seconds later came junior Andrew Smith, crossing the line at 28:40.45. Sophomore Kris Reynolds was third for the Cardinals, clocking in at 29:29.36.

“My top three are experienced and dedicated athletes, and that is why they have been leading the team,” said Coach Mark Robinson. “And if they continue to improve, [it may] give us a chance to get into the high placing at the championships.”

Robinson is also counting on increasingly solid runs from Brian Norte, who he cited as showing rapid improvement this season. “We actually ran better than the 8th place finished even indicated,” said Robinson. “We finished second in this race last year, but I believe this team will be better at the end of the season than last year’s group.”

With two meets remaining before the Landmark Conference Championship, Robinson said the team is going to work on building their speed and strength. The men’s team is also focused on closing the gap in future races. “Our other goal is to try and get our #5 - #7 runners closer to the top four,” said Robinson. “We need whoever emerges as our #5 to not have the type of gaps we have had up until this point.”

The women’s team will be back in action at the Gettysburg Invitational on October 18th, while the men prepare to run at the Juniata Invitational on October 11.