Felician College XC News

October 14, 2014

 Form Holds For Felician Men's Cross-Country In Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – For the third consecutive race, the five healthy members of the Felician College men's cross-country team finished in same order on Saturday afternoon at Belmont Plateau. Felician was competing in a pair of simultaneous events, the annual Jack St. Clair Memorial and the rotating-site Collegiate Track Conference Championship, both hosted by Philadelphia University.

Felician was led by its usual top duo of sophomore Mike Secreti (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) and senior Keenan Huggins-Filozof (Farmingdale, N.J./Freehold Township). Secreti traversed the muddy 8,000-meter course, the site of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship meet on Nov. 2, in 27 minutes, 42 seconds. He was third out of 136 individual entrants in the Jack St. Clair race and second of 42 in the CTCs. Huggins-Filozof clocked a 28:20 and was 13^th and seventh, respectively.

Junior Aiden Lynch (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) has settled into the No. 3 spot in Felician's pack. On Saturday, Lynch ran a 30:46 and was 48^th in the Jack St. Clair and 22^nd in the CTC meet.

Finalizing the Golden Falcon scoring were freshman Fernando Gomez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) and sophomore Connor Gillespie (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights). Gomez's 33:37 was good for 83^rd and 34^th, while Gillespie (121^st, 40^th) clocked in at 38:39.

The host Rams were the team champions of both meets, with Philadelphia senior Eric Lacy winning the race in 27:12. In the Jack St. Clair, the Rams' 50 points were 26 better than the Georgetown Running Club. St. Thomas Aquinas College was the next-best varsity team with 97 points.

Philadelphia was credited with 29 points in the CTCs, putting all five of its scorers in the top 10. STAC scored 54 points, followed by Felician's 96.

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia University hosted two women's cross-country events at Belmont Plateau on Saturday afternoon – its annual Jack St. Clair Memorial, and the rotating-site Collegiate Track Conference championship. Felician College entered both races, and finished ninth out of 16 teams at the Jack St. Clair, and fourth of six schools during the CTCs.

The combined set of entrants for both events ran one 6,000-meter race, and then the fields were separately scored. Felician was led by senior and first-year runner Kassie Topp (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands), who turned in a time of 25 minutes, 40 seconds, and sophomore Sabrina Roldan (Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge), who clocked a 25:49. Both are among the top 20 6K times in the 15-year history of the program.

Topp finished 23^rd out of 141 runners in the Jack St. Clair, and 13^th out of 66 in the CTC. Meanwhile Roldan was 29^th and 17^th, respectively. Senior Andrea Sarracino (Wood-Ridge, N.J./St.. Mary-Rutherford) has emerged as the Golden Falcons' No. 3 performer. Her 27:37 was good for 63^rd and 34^th in the pair of meets.

The final two scoring spots went to seniors Sylvia Bialy (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) and Lianne Rossi (Nutley, N.J./Nutley). Bialy (67^th, 36^th) completed the course in 27:56, while Rossi (74^th, 40^th) crossed the line in 28:17.

St. Thomas Aquinas College was the team champion of both races. In the Jack St. Clair, the Spartans scored 52 points, 15 better than the host Rams. The Golden Falcons had 220 points, falling in between eighth place Ocean County College and Hunter College in 10^th.

Philadelphia was also the runner-up in the CTC Championship, finishing behind STAC by a score of 27-36. Georgian Court University was third with 83 points, followed by Felician's 109.

Felician has added a meet for Oct. 18. The Golden Falcons will travel to Long Island for the St. Joseph's (N.Y.) Invitational.