Seton Hall University
UMES Cappy Anderson Invitational
XC Men and Women Finish 2nd at UMES
9/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
PRINCESS ANNE, MD. - For the second time during the 2012 season, the Seton Hall cross country program will each return home after capturing a pair of second place finishes at the same meet. At Saturday's Cappy Anderson Invitational hosted by the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, both the men's and women's squads finished number two in a field of seven Division I institutions.
BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh took the team title on both the men's and women's side, ending the day with cumulative scores of 15 and 17 respectively. The Seton Hall women have now placed second in all three outings this season while the men finished runner-up for the second week in a row.
Senior Jared Hanko (Montville, N.J.) was the high finisher for the Pirates on the day, finishing fifth to once again lead the men's team. Hanko completed the 8K course in 27:10.9 to earn a spot in the otherwise all-Pittsburgh top-five.
The Montville native was at the head of what proved to be a strong Pirate contingent as all of SHU's scorers placed in the top-15 individually for the second consecutive meet. Junior Carl Johnston (Surrey, British Columbia) finished second on the team for the third time this year, posting a ninth-place time of 28:08.55.
Tyler Orner (Sinking Spring, Pa.) came across next with a time of 28:23.57 to place 13th overall and pick up a third-place team finish for the second straight week.
Close behind were freshmen Jacob Bast (St. Louis, Mo.) and Ryan Flannery (Forked River, N.J.) as they both finished less than 10 seconds behind Orner to complete the Pirates' scoring. Bast recorded a 14th place time of 28:30.95 and Flannery was steps behind him in 15th position, posting a time of 28:32.24. Both Bast and Flannery have now contributed to the team score in two of their first three collegiate appearances.
A symbol of the team's strength, senior Cory Hellwig (Vernon, N.J.) was the fourth consecutive Pirate to cross the line, placing 16th overall. As a team, Seton Hall finished with a total score of 56, the only squad besides Pittsburgh to finish with a score under 100.
On the women's side, senior Hughnique Rolle (Nassau, Bahamas) followed up her win last week at Hofstra by ending the day as Seton Hall's top finisher for the fifth-consecutive meet. Rolle set a new personal record on the 5K course, finishing sixth overall in a time of 18:51.85. The fourth-year squad member surpassed her previous 5K best by over 20 seconds.
Junior Nyala Eddings (Chicago, Ill.) also turned in a personal-best 5K time on the day, placing 11th with a final time of 19:29.09. With the performance, Eddings shaved over half a minute off off her previous 5K best.
Sophomore Mary Migton (Ledgewood, N.J.) turned in another solid performance, ending up in 13th place overall after finishing in 19:44.04.
In the end, the Pirates finished with the same five scorers for the third time this season as freshmen Amanda Quaglia (Reading, Pa.) and Alex Ryan (Aurora, Colo.) continued to impress. Quaglia ran a 19:47.86 to finish 16th in the field of over 70 runners. Ryan finished in 19th place with a final time of 20:09.24, her second top-20 finish in as many weeks.
The Seton Hall women finished with a team score of 50 and like the men, were the only squad outside of the Panthers to post a collective score under 100.
"As a team everybody is happy and excited with their results, but at the same time we are motivated to continue improving," Rolle said after the meet.
The cross country teams will head south again next weekend, when they travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. to take part in the Asics-Embry Riddle Classic. The meet is scheduled to be held one week from today on Saturday, September 22.
