September 30, 2005

JERSEY CITY, NJ - The New Jersey Institute of Technology men's cross country squad ran in the Stevens Invitational at Liberty State Park Friday evening in preparation for NJIT's own Highlander Invitational, to be held at Branch Brook Park in Newark on October 9 at 10:30 am (women's race at 11:30).

All teams ran squads in both a 4K and 8K race. The races were scored separately and then combined for an overall winning team. NJIT entered three men in the 8K and four in the 4K race.

The NJIT men finished 4th in the 8K with 30 points overall. Umar Saeed continued his winning ways, taking the lead after the first mile and topping the field with a time of 25:59 and another win. Mark Pares was 17th at 31:42 and Mike Genauer captured 19th in 32:31 in the 8K race.

In the 4K race, Matt Magnifico ran a 14:24 to take 14th. He was followed by captain Dave Kloc (19th ; 14:35). Will Ehrhardt ran a 14:58 (21st) and John Zawisa clocked a 15:32 for 27th. The team total of 27 points tied for second in the 4K event

Looking ahead to Sunday's Highlander Invitational, coach Al Alonso and his team are hoping for support from the NJIT community. "We are hoping since Branch Brook Park is so close to campus that we can count on the support of students, staff and faculty for our home meet" said the coach.