Molloy University Athletics

Complete Results

NEWARK, N.J. (Oct. 9, 2016) - Freshman Emily Martino (Franklin Square, N.Y.) continued a sensational rookie season for the Molloy College women's cross country team with a fourth-place finish at the Technology XC Challenge hosted by NJIT Saturday (Oct. 8) at Branch Brook Park in Newark. The Lions finished in third place in the women's race out of twenty Division II, III and junior college programs while the men earned a fifth-place showing out of 21 programs.

Martino ran a solid five-kilometer time of 19:14.22, finishing as the top Division II runner at the meet and besting conference rival Dina Ragab (Cairo, Egypt) of NYIT by almost a full second. The freshman led a five-runner battalion for the maroon and white that all finished inside the top-50 of the 160-runner meet. Sophomore Diana Monaco (Center Moriches, N.Y.) crossed the finish line in 24th place with a time of 20:28.41---beating ECC Preseason Women's Runner of the Year Sarah Jerotich (Kapsabet, Kenya) of NYIT by over a second-and-a-half. Fellow second-year harrier Gabriella Martins (East Meadow, N.Y.) ran a 30th-place time of 20:46.97 in the meet with senior Tyra Jamison (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) finishing in 36th place (20:46.97). Junior Nicole Hubert (Middle Village, N.Y.) capped off the Lions' share of the meet with a 41st-place effort, clocking a time of 21:08.12.

In the men's race, three Lions runners finished inside the top-20 led by a sixth-place finish from Brian Michels (Patchogue, N.Y.). The reigning ECC Rookie of the Year was bested by Saint Thomas Aquinas freshmen Robert Guidicipietro (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Jonathan Gay (Westport, N.Y.) to the finish line; Michels did post an eight-kilometer time of 26:34.55. Senior Shane Martensen (East Islip, N.Y.) and freshman James Finnegan (West Hempstead, N.Y.) finished in 16th and 18th place, respectively. Martensen ran a 27:33.99 course time while Finnegan posted a time of 27:40.61 over the Branch Brook Park terrain. Continuing on with the Lions, sophomore Carey Browne (Amityville, N.Y.) took home a 54th-place showing in a time of 29:12.26. Rookie runners Stephen Barbaro (Middle Village, N.Y.) and Matthew Healy (Smithtown, N.Y.) finished in 58th (29:25.16) and 63rd (29:40.06) places as well.

The Lions will have a week sabbatical to get ready for the East Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College on Oct. 22.