CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Fordham men’s cross country season started with a bang at Van Cortlandt Park, where nine teams competed at the Fordham Fiasco Invitational. Placing third in team scoring, the Rams had five top-25 finishers, with sophomore Jonathan Annelli placing seventh overall with a time of 26:22 on the 8-kilometer course.
The Fordham Fiasco meet opened the season up for a strong men’s team, who placed 13th out of 16 in the Atlantic 10 championships last year on the 8-km course. Top returning runners include Anelli, who took 67th in the A-10 Championships last year, while placing 10th in the IC4A championship and third in the Tribe Open with a time of 25:50. Other top runners from 2012 who returned this past Saturday include sophomores Quincy O’Connor and Mike Turi, as well as senior Tim Kazanjian.
O’Connor, whose best finish in 2012 was at the Tribe Open with a time of 26:14, ran a solid 27:09 on Saturday, placing 17th overall. Kazanjian took 20th, clocking in at 27:09, just three seconds behind his best time last year at the C.W. Post Invititational. Turi, who placed top 10 in multiple races last year, ran a 27:10 on Saturday, taking 22nd place. Brian Walter, who did not run in the 2012 season, came in 21st place with a time of 27:10. Walter came in fourth for Fordham, adding depth to a strong top five.
The next race for the Rams is the LIU Post Invitational in Brookville, N.Y.
The women’s cross country team had a fantastic day at Van Cortlandt, finishing first place out of eight at the Fordham Fiasco Invitational. Senior Anisa Arsenault led the Rams with a time of 18:46 in the 5k race, finishing second overall and just eight seconds behind first place finisher. Arsenault continues a remarkable career as she heads into her senior year. Her junior year top finish times of 18:26 and 18:28 helped her place fourth in both the Metropolitan Championship and IC4A Championship, respectively.
Other top finishers on Saturday for the Rams included sophomores Mara Lieberman, Sarah Glockenmeier, Jillian Brooks and senior Christina Vivenetto. All five, including Arsenault, were top-16 finishers, giving the team a comfortable 13-point lead over the second place team, Monmouth. Lieberman, who ran a 19:41, is on track to have her best season thus far. Glockenmeier easily bested her top 2012 time with a time of 19:33. Perhaps what is most promising about the girls team this year is the fact that their top five, excluding Arsenault, finished within 15 seconds of one another, giving a strong team showing for the first meet of the season.
The Rams hope to continue their winning streak on Saturday as they run in the LIU Post Invitational.
