Monmouth Univ. harriers ready for NEC meet
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
The Monmouth University men's and women's cross country teams will be well prepared for next week's Northeast Conference Championships. The Hawks have turned in a series of impressive performances this season in the build up to the Oct. 27 NEC meet at Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain, Conn.

At the Princeton Invitational last weekend, the Hawk women placed second and the men, fifth.

Monmouth's Caitlin Lynam (Sparta) was the first collegiate to the line setting a new Monmouth record for the 6.1K Princeton lay out of 22:27.

Meredith Malloy (Hamilton West) was sixth overall (23:00). Courtney Spratfor (Voorhees) was 24th (24:15) setting a new MU freshman record. Erin Szulewski (24:32) and Tiffany McKennna (Wildwood Catholic) were 28th and 33rd overall. McKennna clocked 24:52.

Red Bank Catholic grad Peter Forgach led the Hawk men with a 15th place. He ran Princeton's five-mile course in 25:25. That was the fastest time run by a Monmouth runner on any five-mile course in 2007.

Randy Hadzor (Lafayette, N.Y.), Jeff Cody (Holmdel) and Matt Caporaso (Old Bridge) were 35th, 43rd and 46th respectively for the men running 26:22, 26:35 and 26:51.

Fifth scorer Ben Hutterer (Saxonburg, PA) set a new freshman record of 26:56 in 48th place.

Earlier this month, Monmouth used Holmdel Park for its Monmouth University Cross Country Invitational. Both teams placed second behind nationally ranked Delaware.

Lynam won the race setting a new Monmouth course record, 18:47.

Malloy was third (19:30) with Jessica Jones (Wilkes Barre, Pa.) and Courtney Spratford (Voorhees) taking eight and ninth in 20:25 and 20:29 respectively.

Rachel Rugiano (Southern Regional) was the Hawks' fifth scorer in 12th place (20:43).

Laura Embrey, from nearby Shore Regional, was Monmouth's sixth runner placing 13th (20:55).

Monmouth's team average of 19:58 was also a new school record.

"It was great to get our top five average under 20 minutes here (Holmdel), especially since it was hot out (over 80 degrees) at race time," said head coach Joe Compagni. "The women had some great individual effort and went after Delaware. If we are firing on all cylinders, we will be able to get past more teams like that in the weeks ahead."

Monmouth fell nine points short of Delaware, 24-33.

Forgach, a sophomore, finished third in the men's race held on Holmdel's demanding collegiate five-mile course. He posted a 27:22.

Three other Hawks finished in the top 10. Caporaso was seventh (28:06), Dustin Coleman (Bishop Hendricskon, RI), ninth (28:20) and Hadzor, 10th (28:22). Frosh Cody was the fifth scorer in 15th (28:39).

The men came up just five points short in their pursuit of Delaware, 39-44.

"The men were hoping to make a run at Delaware, but, gave up a few spots in the last mile and a half of the race, which proved to be the difference," said Compagni. "We knew that we would not run fast times on this course, especially in the heat, but, we wanted to stick close together and go after the win and they almost pulled it off."

At last year's NEC meet, held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y.C,, the men were second and the women, fourth.