Fairfield, CT ? Despite the soggy weather conditions, the University of Hartford men's and women's cross country teams competed in the 32nd Annual Victor F. Leeber, S.J. Invitational at the campus of Fairfield University on Saturday morning. The women's team finished sixth out of 11 teams, while the men's team placed ninth out of 11 teams.
Hartford senior Elizabeth Foster placed second overall to lead the women's team for her third top-finish of the year. Foster clocked a time of 19:04.95 in the 5000-meter course, finishing just eight seconds behind race-leader Brecken Drager of Wagner.
For the Hartford women, sophomore Leanna Godfrey was 21st overall with a time of 20:31.78 while junior Stefanie Lombardi was 33rd with a time of 20:42.70. She was followed by junior Ariana Bass who posted a time of 21:52.50 for 58th overall and junior Kaycee Martinez who clocked a time of 22:00.56 for 64th overall. Rounding out the top-seven was junior Melanie Wilson who finished in 78th place (22:46.29) and Biliana Mihaylova who finished in 86th place (23:10.78).
Also competing in the Victor F. Leeber, S.J. Invitational on the women's team was Susan Mullane who finished in 23:47.48 and Latasha Jarrett who finished in 23:30.21. They were followed by freshman Larisa Woykovsky (23:54.64) and sophomore Cathleen Ficht (24:15.34).
For the men, sophomore Jonas Hampton was the first Hawk to cross the line for his third top finish of the year. Hampton finished the 8000-meter course with a personal-best time of 26:40, placing 20th overall.
Finishing second for the Hawks with a time of 27:44 was freshman Andrew Chalmers (54th place). Following Chalmers was sophomore Matthew Le who finished in 66th place (28:04) and freshman Eric Flaman who ran the 8K in a time of 28:57. Hartford junior Wes Melnick finished in 29:08 while rookie Alexander Welford posted a time of 29:18. Freshman Patrick Murray rounded out the top-seven for the Hawks with a time of 29:20.
The remaining Hartford men's runners included Michael Russo who finished in 29:34, Justin Ferreira who posted a time of 31:46 and senior Frederic Langford who ran a time of 31:47.
The cross country teams will take two weeks to prepare for the New England Championships, their next race. The championships will be held at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday, October 11. The women's race will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the men's race to follow.
