SBU Sports: Men’s Cross Country wins Stony Brook season opener; women’s Cross...

SBU Sports: Men’s Cross Country wins Stony Brook season opener; women’s Cross Country grabs second

SBU Men's Cross Country Team 2023. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook University men’s cross country team started the 2023 season on a high note, finishing first in the Stony Brook Season Opener on Sept. 2. As a unit, Stony Brook collected 17 points and took first in the 6K race with four individual runners finishing inside the top-six.

Shane Henderson was Stony Brook’s top performer, winning the 6K event with a time of 18:42.8, nearly seven seconds faster than second place. Evan Brennan (18:50.2) finished third, one second behind the second-place finisher; Carlos Santos Jr. followed behind Brennan, taking fourth while freshman Collin Gilstrap raced to a sixth-place finish in his first collegiate event.

Two more Seawolves registered top-20 finishes, with Michael Hawkes taking 16th and Steven Struk placing 20th. Four more runners (Michael Fama, Nick Tardugno, Eric Shu and Henry Gartner) placed inside the top-30.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Henderson started his senior year with a first-place finish. He posted an average mile of 4:51.7 to lead the pack.
  • Brennan grabbed third place, posting an average mile time of 4:53.6. Brennan joined Henderson and LIU’s Elyas Ayyoub as one of three runners in the field to finish in less than 19 minutes.
  • Santos (4th) and Gilstrap (6th) rounded out Stony Brook’s top-10 performers.

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SBU Women’s Cross Country Team 2023. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook University women’s cross country team finished in second place at the Stony Brook Season Opener on Sept.2 . Junior Grace Weigele finished first individually in the 4K to pace the Seawolves as a squad.

Quinnipiac won the Stony Brook Season Opener, finishing with a team total of 33 points, seeing five runners finish in the top 10. Weigele led the way for Stony Brook, pacing the entire field with a time of 13:58.9 and an average mile time of 5:29.0. Three more Seawolves finished inside the top-15: Nicole Garcia (6th), Grace Sisson (11th) and Niamh Durcan (12th).

Amelie Guzman was Stony Brook’s only other top-20 performer, clocking in at 14:52.0 in the 4K event. Rebecca Clackett (41st), Ava Carlsey (44th), Logan Barsalow (58th) and Julia Samuelson (61st) rounded out the field for the Seawolves.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Weigele was the individual winner in the 4K event, leading the pack with the only sub-14 minute race of the event. Her 13:58.9 clocking was nearly 10 seconds faster than second place.
  • Garcia’s 14:20.5 time was good for sixth place. Sisson (11th) and Durcan (12th) were Stony Brook’s other top performers.

Good opener for both teams, the goal today was just to get some of the rust off and get the season underway,” head coach Andy Ronan noted.