By Jean Pierre Guzhnay - STAFF WRITER
Both the men and women’s cross country teams competed at the NCAA regional championship at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx last Friday afternoon.
The men placed 35th with 1,055 points, while the women placed 40th with 1,269 points.
There were runners from both sides that recorded personal records as the NCAA Northeast Regional wrapped up the season for the Hofstra Pride.
Jack Finlayson, a sophomore originally from Canada, recorded a personal best, while also leading the Pride in a competition for the second time in his career.
Finlayson set a 10K time of 33:03 to finish 156th, topping a previous 10K record by 1:27, coincidently also at Van Cortlandt Park. The next runner to finish for the men’s team was freshman Daniel Barlev, who recorded a time of 33:03 to finish 174th.
Alan Hetherington, also from Canada, placed 217th in 34:06, while fellow freshman Austin Jenkins finished 249th in 35:41. The last runner to finish for the men’s team was Michael Simon who was 259th in 37:20.
Meanwhile, for the women’s cross country team, five runners took the chance to record personal bests as the season came to an end.
Junior Eberwein clocked a 6K time of 24:39 to finish 244th as she beat her previous time from the Princeton Invitational by 23 seconds. It was also the first time that she has led the Pride team in her cross country career.
Coming second for the Pride was freshman Irene Garidas finishing 251st and posting a personal record of 24:53 by 27 seconds, one that was set at the CAA Championship.
Fellow freshman Megan Tidey placed 254th in 24:56, also topping her previous best by 25 seconds.
Emily McLean, a freshman from New Hampshire, was the fourth finisher for the Pride, recording a time of 25:13 to place 259th. That also was a personal best of the day, topping her previous record that was set at Lehigh’s Paul Short Run by three seconds.
Senior Eva Holtermann, from Staten Island, clocked a time of 26:02 to place 271st, while Kristen Politi, a freshman from Wantagh, N.Y. was the last runner for the Pride that afternoon also setting a personal best of 28:29 for 275th place beating her previous time by 26 seconds.
The NCAA Northeast Regional concluded the 2014 Hofstra cross country season for both teams.
