The St. Thomas Aquinas cross country teams competed at the 43rd Annual Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University.  Freshmen Jon Gay and Robbie Guidicipietro recorded strong performances finishing in 18th and 19th in a field of 266.

The men's team continued to build a strong resume for the 2016 season.  They have helped to elevate the Spartans both in the conference and also in the region.  Gay clocked a personal best 26:51 in his second race as the lead Spartan.  Guidicipietro crossed the line just two seconds later at 26:53.  Members of the senior class made up the final scorers for the team.   Jamer Linares came through at 27:37.  Ryan Gasser and Campbell Zicchino worked together througout the course and finished just 3 seconds apart at 28:32 ad 28:35.  Freshmen Austin Labbe (28:47) and Kyle Kondracki (29:02) helped support the 9th place team finish.  Thirty-four teams competed in the race.

For the women, senior Meaghan Ventarola finished the 6K course in 22:58.  Freshman Aida Torpey continued to show her potential, clocking a time of 23:39 in her first 6K race.  Junior Kara Santa Teresa stepped up running an excellent race.  She crossed the line in 24:19.  Freshman Rebecca MacLeod was next for the Spartans in 24:59.  In the final scoring position, Patricia Nersten finished at 25:01.

The men's squad and a limited women's team will compete at the NJIT Highlander XC Challenge next weekend.  A select group of women will be racing at th National Preview hosted by St. Leo in Tampa, FL.