PRINCETON, N.J. – Junior Brandan
McGee (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) returned to early season
form, pacing the men's squad for the first time since mid-September
while classmate Cody Mezebish(Westminster, Md./South Carroll)
continued her strong season by once again leading the women as the
UMBC cross country teams competed at the Princeton Invitational,
Saturday morning at West Windsor Field. The men's team
finished fifth in a field of 24 as the women placed 19th
overall.
For McGee, it was his third time leading the Retrievers this
season, but first since the Navy Invitational on Sept.
15. The junior completed the 8K course in a
school-record time of 24:45.65 to finish 16th overall in the
championship race. Behind McGee, the other six Retriever
scorers all crossed the finish line within three seconds of each
other, led by juniors Jake
Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) and Tom
Eldridge (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) who finished in a
time of 24:59. Junior Vinny
DiSalvo (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) and
freshman Hassan
Omar (Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson) rounded out the
scoring for UMBC.
On the women's side, Mezebish also was the top Retriever
finisher for the third time this season, taking 66th on Saturday
with a 6K time of 23:03.50. Since the Salty Dog
Invitational on Sept. 15, the junior has led UMBC in each race
except the Towson Invitational. For the fourth straight
race, freshman Nicole
Dawson (Jessup, Md./Hammond) was the second Retriever
across the line, this time with a 6K time of 23:29.20 for 97th
place. Sophomore Alyse Gibson (Columbia,
Md./Reservoir) scored for the first time this season, taking 99th
place, while classmate Julie
Gessler (Ellicott City, Md./Institute of Notre Dame)
and freshman Harmony
Roche (Millersville, Md./Severn School) also scored.
UMBC now has two weeks off from competition before traveling to
the America East Championships on Oct. 27. The
championship meet, which is hosted by the University of New
Hampshire, will take place at College Woods, outside of Durham,
N.H..
