STAC MEN, WOMEN COMPETE IN CODFISH BOWL

The STAC men’s cross team finished 14^th and the Spartan women placed 20^th at the Codfish Bowl cross country meet on Saturday, Sept. 23 at Franklin Park in Boston.

The Spartan men compiled 394 points to take 14^th of 18 teams, while the women scored 524 points for 20^th place out of 20 teams. Stonehill (Mass.) swept the men’s and women’s team crowns.

Sophomore Elmer Eckert was the top men’s finisher for STAC, completing the 8K (4.96-mile) course in 27 minutes 47 seconds for 68^th place out of 166 finishers. Freshman Brad McNiff was the No. 2 Spartan in 28:02, good for 75^th place. He was followed by freshman Aidan Hearn, 96^th, 28:55; sophomore Andrew Gangemi, 109^th, 29:32; sophomore Andrew Spanos, 120^th, 30:08; senior Anthony Hilliard, 121^st, 30:08; and sophomore Rafael Ortiz, 139^th, 31:13.

Freshman Ashley Toscano once again paced the Lady Spartans, crossing the finish line 97^th of 159 runners in 22:30 for the 5K (3.1-mile) course. Seniors Kelly Bauer and Laura Koch were next for STAC, placing 131^st and 132^nd in respective times of 23:56 and 23:57. Other Spartan scorers were freshman Amanda Szorentini, 143^rd in 24:51, and junior Samara Vega, 158^th in 28:07.

STAC’s next competition is the Dominican Invitational on Oct. 9.