BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - FDU Men's and Women's Cross Country competed in the NEC Cross Country Championships at the LIU Post Campus in Brookville. The Women's team finished in eighth place, and the Men's team grabbed fourth place in their respective races.
The Women's team led off the morning at the championships, and every Knight that started recorded a new personal best time in the six kilometer race. The first Knight to cross the finish line was Temi Adebayo, who clocked a time of 24:20.2 to take 41st place overall.
Kayla Smith (51st) and
Aisha Williams (53rd) ran in a pack throughout the entire race and the tandem finished within 35 seconds of each other, each helping the Knights tighten the gap.
Tanari Wyatt, Courtney Adams,
Briana Reyes, and
Jazlyne Aguilera all ran new personal best times, contributing for the Knights in the NEC Championships.
The men's team was next to the starting line, and the duo of
Chase Lopez and
Kidus Zeleke stole the show for the burgundy and blue. Lopez was flying throughout the entire race, crossing the finish line with a new personal best time, breaking his previous best eight kilometer time by a minute and 40 seconds. Lopez's final time was 24:02.8, which was the runner-up time in the NEC Championship, earning him all-conference honors.
Zeleke finished not far behind Lopez, with a time of 24:56.7, also a new personal record. Zeleke crossed the finish line in seventh place, marking the second Knight to garner all-NEC honors for the Knights.
Dylan Manning,
Brandon Barreto, and
Dylan Little all ran times that qualified for the Knights, as the trio crossed the line all in under 27 minutes and 30 seconds. FDU was able to grab fourth place in the meet, missing out on the podium by just one point, as the Knights were bested by Le Moyne for third place.
The Knights mens team will be heading to the Goodman Cross Country Course for the Men's NCAA Regional Race, while the women's team will eye up another positive finish inside Ocean Breeze, as the road to the indoor track and field season will begin for the Knights.
Connect with the Knights on Instagram and X by following @FDUKnightsTrack.
