The St. Thomas Aquinas Cross Country Program traveled to Newark, Delaware for the University of Delaware Blue & Gold Invitational on Saturday. The women's squad, led by senior Keeley Bateman, took 3rd place while the men finished in 5th. Senior Mike Galonski was the top finisher for the day in 3rd place overall.
In the first 6K race of the season, Bateman picked up right where she left off. She finished 12th in 24:12. Sophomores Meagan Jaskot and Gabby Sloezen continued to be consistent in the second and third spots in times of 24:44 and 25:18. Rookies Meagan Ventarola and Jumana Khatib tackled their first ever 6K crossing the line in 26:09 and 26:24 respectively. They have continued to provide a spark for the Lady Spartans.
Galonski has really established himself as a top runner in the conference this year with a handful of top five finishes. In 27:19, he was the 2nd DII finisher, just behind Dowling's Scott Litts. Junior Joe Chegwidden was the next Spartan to cross the line in 28:42 which was good for 12th place. Senior Matthew Buell helped pace freshman Ryan Gasser locking in their final times of 29:23 and 30:00. Freshmen Stephen McNiff rounded out the Spartan scorers in 30:59.
STAC will take next weekend off from racing in preparartion for the ECC Conference Championship on Sunday, October 27th at LIU Post. The women's race is set to begin at 10:30 AM followed by the men at 11:30 AM.