Sept. 8, 2007

BETHPAGE, NY - The NJIT men's and women's cross country teams made a solid showing at the Hofstra Invitational at Bethpage State Park today as freshman Amanda Hefferan placed fifth and Stefan Montalvo finished 18th as the Highlanders opened up their 2007 season.

The 6k race for the women and the 8k race for the men were scored as a series of dual meets against Northeastern, Hofstra, and St. John's. The women finished with 97 points (4th place) and the men finished with 85 points (3rd place).

Amanda Hefferan covered the 6,000 meter course recording a freshman record with a finish time of (24.48) in the race for top honors among the Highlanders. Amanda comes with a strong cross country experience and has her sights set on all our freshmen records, Coach Al Alonso stated.

Sophomore captain Cara Constantino who will provide key leadership for the young squad placed 26th (28.23) while three Highlanders followed right behind. Freshmen Katherine Joseph who is running cross country for the first time this year and Daisy Gallegos who has demonstrated a lot of promise in preseason, Alonso stated, crossed the finsih line back-to-back (28.54, 28.57) while sophomore Lesley Hendricks completed the course at (32.13).

Stefan Montalvo who made his Highlander debut led the men's side recording a freshman-record in the 8,000 meter race placing 18th with a time of (29.56). Michael Gurlacz, who returns this season after a season-ending injury finished the course 22nd (31.20) while three Highlanders followed behind. Senior Matthew Magnifico, freshman Brad Leonhardt and Jamil Wilkins crossed the line with times of (31.28, 31.41 and 31.53).

Other finishers in the race for the NJIT were Nicole Kerrison 33rd (32.30) and Shawntel Young 34th (34.57) as Michael Genauer recorded a time of (32.20) and freshman Mark Givens closed out the course at (32.22).

The Highlanders return to action on Sunday, September 16 when they host the NJIT Classic at Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY. The women are scheduled to start at 10:15am while the men follow behind starting at 11:15am.