Men's and Women's Cross Country Set Personal Records During "Non-Traditional" Season
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (April 6, 2011) – The men's and women's cross country teams continue to compete during the “non-traditional” season, participating in two events in the past few weeks. First, the team went to New Jersey to participate in the Monmouth University Invitational on March 26. This past Saturday, April 2, the Pioneers took part in the Wagner Invite.
For the women's portion of the team, three girls set personal records for the track event at Monmouth during the 5k. Jennifer McLaughlin (Seaford, N.Y.) ran the quickest time of those three, posting a 19:46 finishing time. Erin Lusenskas (East Atlantic Beach, N.Y.) started to close out her career with a best record of 20:32. Angela Pereira (Islip, N.Y.) was the last of the three to set a personal record, finishing with a 22:05 time. Sophomores Caitlin Smith (Levittown, N.Y.) and Katherin Wilkens (Woodbury, N.Y.) also competed, finishing with times of 20:02 and 21:36 respectively.
On the men's side, Christian Altamura (Seaford, N.Y.) finished fourth place during the 3000m race with a time of 9:58. Three other runners competed during the 5k event, with Matthew O'Keefe (East Rockaway, N.Y.) doing the best with a time of 15:42. Sophomores Raymond Coyle (Woodhaven, N.Y.) and Thomas Speicher (Levittown, N.Y.) ran times of 16:02 and 16:24 during the 5k. The final event Pioneer runners competed in was the 1500m, with Joseph Lasher (Seaford, N.Y.) finishing in a time of 4:17 and David Johnson (Flushing, N.Y.) running a 4:41 time.
The Wagner Invite saw more personal track records being set, with McLaughlin beating her previous best during a 5k with a time of 19:41, which landed her in third place. Luskensas also bested her previous personal best, running a time of 20:24 to put her in fourth place. Pereira ran a time of 21:47 to also beat out her personal best, with Sarah McLaughlin (Seaford, N.Y.) being the last female Pioneer to set a personal record with a time of 21:50. Smith ran a time of 20:40 during the 5k, with Wilkens matching her time from Monmouth (21:36).
Altamura took first place overall for the men during the 5k at Wagner, running a time of 15:35 and setting a personal record for the event. Coyle then set a 1500m personal record with a time of 4:14. Lasher and Speicher also competed in the 1500m, completing the course with times of 4:12 and 4:32 respectively.