The Manhattan University mens’s cross country team celebrates their first
place victory at the Metropolitan Championships.
@JASPERSXCTF / INSTAGRAM
By Laili Shahrestani, Staff Writer
The Manhattan University cross country team concluded its season with a race at the MAAC Championships on Nov. 2, with the men finishing in ninth place and the women placing eleventh.
Prior to this race, MU cross country (XC) achieved multiple accomplishments throughout the season. Earlier in the year, MU XC took home a victory at the Metropolitan Championships (METS).
The men’s team won their twenty-seventh METS title, which is a record-breaking number of wins in contrast to any other school involved in the race. The women’s team placed second, also bringing more success for MU XC.
Brendan Lucey, a senior on the MU men’s XC team, shared his experience with the sport, emphasizing how the team’s collaboration led to their success at the METS and other championships this season.
“Something that our coach emphasized for us to do is try to work as a team,” Lucey said. “I think that’s something we did very well at during the Metropolitan Championships. I feel like it signified a change in the team culture. Also, when we ran at the Fordham Fiasco our team won. That really showed that we’re all in it.”
Kylie Conroy, a senior on the MU women’s XC team, emphasized how she is proud of her team for uplifting one another, and encouraging each other to perform to the best of their ability. Conroy spoke about how the women’s XC team was able to achieve new goals this year at the METS as a result of the positive environment created by the team.
“Our performance at the METS was probably the standout race of our season,” Conroy said. “Last year, we also got second, but we lost to St. John’s. But this year, we beat St. John’s, and that was a team that we weren’t really expecting. We really focus on uplifting the girls around us. I think that was really helpful for us. It was definitely a tough race. But, one thing that I am proud of is that I know that each of us went out there and gave it our all for each other.”
Conroy went on to speak about how the success that MU XC experienced this season was a result of the chemistry between the team members. Conroy emphasized how her team prioritizes motivating and supporting one another during practices, ultimately leading to more victories when it comes time to compete.
“Our atmosphere in general is just super positive,” Conroy said. “During workouts, we’re always motivating each other and uplifting one another. And that will translate to our races when it gets tough. We are doing this for each other.”
The MU XC team also experienced triumph earlier in the season after racing at Fordham Fiasco, which took place in Van Cortlandt Park. The women’s team achieved first place with 32 points, while Columbia University placed second and Fordham University placed third. The MU men’s XC team ended up winning the tournament with 29 points, while Fordham came in second place and Columbia followed in third place.
While MU XC achieved great success throughout multiple races this season, Kerri Inman, the director of cross country, expressed how she feels the overall team score was underwhelming at the MAAC Championships, and how she thinks there is room for growth.
However, Inman also mentioned how the individual times of the runners showcased improvement at the championships, and how XC continuously performed better with each race.
“Despite the disappointing team score, many of the individuals ran personal bests and made significant improvements from when we were first at the farm [twin ponds] in September,” Inman said. “Week after week they grew more cohesive and we were happy to celebrate a big team win at METS for the men and a strong second place for the women.”
Lucey added onto the idea that at the MAAC Championships, MU XC may not have carried out their best performance as a team. However, he also felt as if they did seemingly well as individuals. Lucey spoke about how the team should feel proud of themselves after the event, regardless of the overall team score.
“I think individually, we all really did our best,” Lucey said. “We all committed to running as well as we could. Even if it didn’t show overall, with our team performing against other MAAC schools, I think that everyone should still walk away from that day proud of what they accomplished. I’m proud of what we were able to do.”
Although Lucey holds senior status, he still remains deeply invested in the future of MU XC, and has aspirations for their success once he is gone. Lucey spoke about his high hopes for the runners that will continue to be a part of MU XC in future years.
“With some of our younger members, I feel like we will see even more development,” Lucey said. “I think going into the next few years, we will definitely have all the pieces needed to place higher up in the MAAC Championships. I’m very optimistic about what XC can do in the future.”