Callagy Finishes Second, Modaferri Fourth

Sophomore Sarah Callagy (21:36) remained strong with a second place finish at the CW Post Invitational which helped the Lady Spartans secure a fourth place finish on the Brookville, Long Island course.  On the Men's side, senior Vinny Modaferri was the first Spartan to cross the line in 29:00 which placed him in fourth for the day.  CW Post hosted the race as preview for the East Coast Conference Championship which will be held on October 25th at the same location.

In the first race of the day, the women's team showed great improvement from the 2008 season.  Callagy set the pace, but was closely followed by fellow sophomore Chelsea Klinger who crossed the line in 22:45 which put her in 12th place.  Lisa Brevogel, another sophomore took 33rd and teammate Andrea Riquelme stayed close and finished with a time of 26:07.  Senior Ashley Toscano rounded out the Lady Spartans dropping 30 seconds from her previous race time.  The fourth place finish gives a positive outlook on the future of this team.  They just missed third by a mere eight points.

Modaferri ran the early miles with teammate Einar Brissing.  The two kept the leaders in site as they worked the muddy horse trails.  In the final mile, Modaferri made his move and broke away for the fourth place finish.  Brissing finished in 29:42.  Freshman, James Patton, made his 8K Race debut and was the third scorer for the Spartans with a time of 33:48.  Brothers Chris and Matt Muniz and Junior Dan Nilsen also ran in a pack in the early miles.  All three showed that they are far ahead of where they were early last season and each will make major contributions as the season progresses.

The STAC Cross Country Team returns to action next Saturday, September 19th at the NYIT Invitational which will be held at Bethpage State Park.  The women's race will go off at 11:00AM followed by the men's at 11:45.