STAC Striders Place 2nd At Lehman Invitational
The Spartan Striders of Saint Thomas Aquinas College traveled down to the fabled trails of Van Cortland Park in the Bronx to compete in the 3rd annual Lehman Lightning Invitational. After having to adjust the roster due to the fact that freshman Christian Mendez, their number three runner was unable to run because of an ankle injury, the fighting Spartans toed the starting line ready to
see how good they could be in the 22 team invitational. The Striders did not disappoint their coach or other loyal spectators as they cruised through the hills and dales of Van Cortland Park.
Junior Elmer Eckert lead the long maroon line by finishing 3rd overall, after
vying for 2nd place for about 3 miles. Closing fast on Eckert's heels was junior Andrew Gangemi, as he roared home in 4th place. Junior Rafael Ortiz continued the STAC blitz by placing 8th overall as he continued to evolve into a racing specialist. Sophomore Vinny Moddeferri, finally started to get back to the form that sparked a successful high school career as he placed 21st, and missed the coveted medal position by one place! Freshman Matt Tucker continued to improve his post-injury layoff by rounding out the top five scorers as he showed his speed down the straightaway and left numerous runners in his wake. Also receiving team medals were sophomore Lee Buelta and freshman Dan Nilsen,
as they filled out the 6th and 7th position of the team roster. Lee and Dan ran an unbelievable race and surged home picking off runner after runner in the home stretch to help wrap up their second place victory.
Unfortunately, in spite of running a great race, the Spartans could not muster up the low score of the day that would have brought them in first place overall.
Instead they had to settle for 2nd place behind team champion Suffolk Community College. Who knows what might have happened if
Mr. Mendez had been able to toe the line and run his usual race...
All in all, the day was a successful one for the
Spartan Striders as they beat 20 other teams from the tri-state
area, proved to themselves that indeed they train to race, and also
send a message that they are an up and coming squad that needs to
be reckon with in future invitational. The Spartan Striders next
competition is the upcoming Saint Rose Golden Joust in Albany, New
York on October 5th.