SALISBURY, Md. – The Ursinus College men's and women's cross country teams kicked off the 2016 campaign under windy and rainy conditions at the 20th annual Salisbury Anniversary Fall Classic on Saturday afternoon, with the men placing third and the women fourth.
Battling windy and rainy conditions brought on by the arrival of Tropical Storm Hermine, four Bears – three men, one woman – established new personal records, while a host of others made their collegiate debuts.
Junior Joseph Iuliucci paced the men's contingent, placing just outside the top 10 with a personal best time of 27:10.66 at Winter Place Park.
Freshmen Craig Lauer (28:04.77) and James McDaid (28:24.40) performed well in their 8-kilometer debuts. Sophomore Evan Cirafesi recorded a new personal best (28:32.57) and was followed in a tight bunch by rookies John Haase (28:34.69) and Logan Mazullo (28:35.59).
Sophomore Andrew Voyack tallied a PR of his own with a time of 29:08.70 and was the seventh Ursinus athlete to cross the finish line.
Assistant coach Tyler Melius ran unattached and placed fifth overall with a mark of 26:33.45.
The host Sea Gulls took the men's crown, with Navy in second and Shenandoah in fourth.
Sophomore Brittany Gasser led the way for the women, landing in 16th overall after a 24:25.99, and classmate Riley Engel was 23rd with a 24:40.25.
Junior Jenna Kelly posted a 25:02.39 (25th place) in her first 6-kilometer race, and sophomore Gabrielle Manto was right behind in 25:05.99, a personal best by over 30 seconds and good for 27th overall. Freshman Alyson Manley was right on Manto's heels, clocking a 25:10.73 in her first career action.
DeSales captured the women's team title with 27 points, followed by Salisbury (43), Clarion (70), Ursinus (119), Shenandoah (129), and Marymound (Va.) (164).