Scroll below for Update to Highlander Invitational Results
Courtney O'Hara finished as RCSJ's top women's runner while Evan Bongard was the top finisher for the Roadrunners in the men's race during Saturday's Highlander Invitational at Cairn University in Langhorne, PA.
O'Hara, a sophomore and former Gateway standout, helped the Runners to a fourth place team finish overall. She covered the women's 6 K course in 26:48.3 for a solid sixth place overall finish in the individual competition.
The next top finisher for Coach Ryan Hughes' squad was freshman Gabriella Szwed, who placed 29th overall in 31:53.1.
The Roadrunner Men's team, meanwhile, placed third in the team standings with 85 points, behind champion Felician (52) and runnerup Georgian Court (54).
Bongard, a freshman, placed 13th overall with a time of 30:32.7 over the 8 K course, followed closely by teammate C.J. Gilmore, who placed 15th in 30:51.9. Gavin Casella (20th), Brandon Lachowicz (21st) and Walker Osborne (30th) also finished among the top tier runners in the meet.
Complete meet results may be found at:
https://tfrrs.org/results/xc/23367/Highlander_Invitational
Highlander Invitational Complete Wrap-up
10/05/24
Highlander Inv.
Cairn University, Langhorne, PA
Women’s 6k
6. Courtney O’Hara 26:48
29. Gabriella Szwed 31:53
38. Grace Wahl 35:06
39. Madison O’Donnell 35:15
43. Georgia Lorenzetti 38:57
45. Francesca Maccarone 39:40
Team finished 4th out of 11 teams
Men’s 8k
13. Evan Bongard 30:32
15. CJ Gilmore 30:51
20. Gavin Casella 31:30
21. Branden Lachowicz 31:32
30. Walker Osborne 33:15
33. Sean Gallo 33:31
39. Kevin Profico 34:40
46. Michael Thomas 35:54
47. Gary Schwegel 36:00
Team finished 3rd out of 11 teams
The men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to the twisting hills of Cairn University this past weekend for the Highlander Invitational. The course was the hilliest of the year so far for the Roadrunners and they handled the challenge well. RCSJ was the only Junior College in attendance at the meet and we faced stiff competition from some NCAA Division 2 scholarship teams.
The women’s team, currently ranked #9 in the latest NJCAA National Poll, was led by Courtney O’Hara making a return after an illness. She led all the Roadrunners with an award winning 6th place finish. Next up for the flock was Gabby Szwed placing in the top 30. The duo of Grace Wahl and Maddy O’Donnell came across next in 38th and 39th respectively. Wrapping up the scoring and after a challenging final hill were Georgia Lorenzetti and Francesca Maccarone with their 43rd and 45th placings respectively. As a team, the women placed 4th in the 11 team field.
The men’s team, currently ranked #6 in the latest NJCAA National Poll, was led by the dynamic duo of Evan Bongard and CJ Gilmore who placed 13th and 15th respectively. Like the women, the men’s team used a strategy of working together with teammates, with the duo of Gavin Casella and Branden Lachowicz who placed 20th and 21st crossing the line next. Next up was Walker Osborn with his best race of the season to secure 30th place and lead the men’s team to a 3rd place finish. The only teams to beat the Roadrunner men were NCAA D2 Felician and Georgian Court.
Next up for both teams is the DeSales Invitational hosted by DeSales University.