Seton Hall University
Stockton Invitational
XC Opens Spring with Four Victories at Stockton
3/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
March 24, 2014
GALLOWAY, N.J. - Victories by Nyala Eddings (Chicago, Ill.), Mary Migton (Ledgewood, N.J.) and Kevin Walsh (Deltaville, Va.) highlighted the day as the Seton Hall cross country squads kicked off their spring season over the weekend, sending several team members to compete in selected events at the Stockton Invitational track & field meet.
In their first competitive outing since late November, the Pirates performed well at the meet hosted by Stockton College, recording a total of 10 top-five efforts despite limited participation.
As she was often throughout the cross country season, the senior Eddings was the star of the day for the Seton Hall women, recording wins in both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter races. Her 800m time of 2:23.29 was more than four seconds faster than her closest competitor and she was joined in the top half of a field that included 25 entrants by teammates Holli Rolle (Nassau, Bahamas) (10th, 2:37.29) and Felicia Mingrone (Shelton, Conn.) (11th, 2:37.99).
Eddings was even more dominant at the 1,500m distance, finishing atop a field that featured 19 runners over two heats with a time of 5:02.13 that outpaced runner-up Catherine Dougherty by more than 10 seconds (5:12.60). Classmate Kristen May (Shrewsbury, Mass.) recorded a seventh-place finish in the event, clocking in at 5:26.92.
A medalist the ECAC Championships in the Pirates' final appearance of the cross country season, Migton later followed with an emphatic victory of her own as she outclassed the 5,000m field with a time that came within two seconds of her personal best mark. Migton set a new individual record when she crossed the line in 12th-place with a time of 18:41.2 at the ECAC event in the fall and the junior showed that she has not lost a step in the months that followed; registering an 18:43.22 effort that was nearly 23 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Cassandra Hrusko of Stockton (19:05.99).
Freshman Desyre Blackburn (Aloha, Ore.) came in third in the 5K race, posting a time of 19:11.58.
In the 3,000m race, sophomore Samantha Young (Upper Black Eddy, Pa.) added another third-place showing, finishing in 12:05.02 to lead four Seton Hall runners in the event.
Blackburn, Eddings and Rolle later teamed with Allyson Guieb (Robbinsville, N.J.) to collect a second-place time of 4:18.84 in the 4x400m relay, finishing as one of two squads to come in under the 4:20 mark.
After coming on strong to close the cross country campaign, Walsh recorded a fourth victory for the Pirates, claiming first in the 5,000m event with a final time of 16:14.19. Tyler Orner (Sinking Spring, Pa.) and Ryan Flannery (Forked River, N.J.) placed just outside the top-five, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.
Freshman Victor Ricci (Narragansett, R.I.) was the top collegiate finisher in the 3,000m race, crossing the line in second overall at the 9:06.60 mark. Classmate Cameron Quisenberry (Owensboro, Ky.) finished fifth with a time of 9:28.98 as four Seton Hall freshmen ultimately ranked among the top-10.
Sophomore Jacob Bast (St. Louis, Mo.) rounded out the top-five finishers for The Hall at Stockton, completing 1,500 meters in 4:19.68 to place fifth out of 23 entrants.
The meet was the first of five on the schedule for the Pirates this spring. Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, March 29 at the Monmouth Season Opener in West Long Branch. Start-time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
