Posted: Oct 25, 2015
The St. Thomas Aquinas Women's Cross Country team finished 3rd in the East Coast Conference Championship. Sophomore Kristen Borriello set a new Spartan 5K record, while many personal records were set by the team. Sophomore Vincent Vazquez led the men's squad also running a personal best.
The women's race proved to be one of the closest team finishes in ECC history. The top three teams were separated by only three points. Borriello who crossed the line first for the Spartans and was 5th overall set the new Spartan mark at 18:13. This tops teammate Meaghan Ventarola's record of 18:28 set earlier this season. Senior Gabriela Sloezen ran a new personal best in her final collegiate 5K running a time or 18:41. Junior Katie O'Grady was next for STAC in 11th place clocking a time of 18:52. Redshirt junior Ventarola finished at 19:02 followed by senior Rebecca Fortoul in 19:59 (personal best). All five of the Spartan scorers finished in the top 25 along with senior Cecelia Pfleging who finished in 24th at 20:09. Sophomore Kara Santa Teresa also recorded a new personal best finishing in 20:16. The team champion was Roberts Weslyan while Daemen College took 2nd.
The men's team showed a great deal of improvement with almost every runner clocking a personal best at the conference championship. Vazquez finished in 26:40 which was good for 14th place. Junior Jamer Linares followed with a 23rd place finish in 27:31. Freshmen Harley Ruiz stayed with Linares for the majority of the race, crossing the line just three places later in 27:39. Junior Ryan Gasser clocked a time of 28:28:08 while sophomore Christian Diaz ran a new personal best of 28:34. Rookie Joe Lipari ran a career best 29:27. Junior Stepehn McNiff returned to racing after a month off and finished in 30:20.
Both teams will return to action on November 8th at the NCAA East Region Championship in New Hampshire. The women will race at 11:00 AM followed by the men at 12:15 PM.
Women's Team Results
| Team | Points |
| 1. Roberts Wesleyan | 56 |
| 2. Daemen | 58 |
| 3. St. Thomas Aquinas | 59 |
| 4. LIU Post | 99 |
| 5. NYIT | 114 |
| 6. Queens | 168 |
| 7. Molloy | 175 |
| 8. Bridgeport | 243 |
| 9. Dist. Columbia | 248 |
| 10. Dowling | 298 |
Men's Team Results
| Team | Points |
| 1. Roberts Wesleyan | 28 |
| 2. Molloy | 58 |
| 3. LIU Post | 74 |
| 4. Daemen | 113 |
| 5. St. Thomas Aquinas | 124 |
| 6. NYIT | 140 |
| 7. Queens | 214 |
| 8. Bridgeport | 248 |
| 9. Dowling | 251 |