Cross Country Heads to Monmouth for Opening Weekend
9/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
With many new faces lacing up for the blue and white, the Seton Hall men and women's Cross Country teams will open the fall season at the Monmouth XC Kick-off Saturday, September 3.
Behind the leadership of sophomore Carl Johnston and junior Hughnique Rolle, the Pirates look to build on their previous season and improve on last year's results at the Monmouth Invitational. The men and women's Cross Country teams turned in 5th and 4th place finishes, respectively.
Johnston recorded a noteworthy freshmen campaign, leading the Pirates at multiple events, including team-best finishes at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship, NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, and IC4A Championship.
As Johnston's counterpart on the women's side, Rolle looks to follow up a strong sophomore season. She paced the Pirates at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship, the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, and several other notable events.
The team's first challenge, Thompson Park, though a relatively flat course, may be providing a little more trouble than usual this Saturday.
"Everybody's main concern right now is Irene," says Coach John Moon, heading into his 40th season with the Pirates. "A lot of the course is still water, so hopefully tomorrow it'll be down. Even then, it'll still be pretty muddy."
The Pirates will also return several runners for either side, including senior Andrew O'Leary and junior captain Jared Hanko for the men, and sophomore Nyala Eddings and junior Christina Chafos for the women. Coach Moon also looks for rookie Mary Migton, among his many freshmen, to challenge for the teams' top times.
The women will be running a 4K, while the men will take on 5 miles on the muddy course. The Pirates will compete against 11 other schools in the region, including Marist, Rider, St. Francis, and NYU, all in addition to the host, Monmouth.
Even with the course potentially spewing up a little bit of mud, Coach Moon and his team still look forward to kicking off the fall season.
"Irene or no Irene, they're still excited."
