Seton Hall University
Monmouth XC Kick-Off
WXC Takes Second in Opener at Monmouth
8/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
LINCROFT, N.J. - Freshman Christiana Rutkowski (Middletown, N.J.) and senior Mary Migton (Ledgewood, N.J.) recorded top-six individual finishes at the Monmouth XC Kick-Off on Saturday, helping lead the Seton Hall women's cross country squad to a runner-up finish in its first appearance of the fall.
The second-place effort was a third-consecutive for the Pirates in the season-opening event as The Hall was bested only by the host Hawks on the day.
Rutkowski clocked in at 15:10.3 to take fourth-place among 64 Division I entrants and pace the squad in her collegiate debut while the veteran Migton was just strides behind, completing the 4K course with a new personal record time of 15:12.4. The senior has now placed among the top-two on the team in the last 11 fall races dating back to the 2012 finale.
The Middletown product Rutkowski is also the first freshman to lead Seton Hall at a fall event since Migton in 2011.
Junior Amanda Quaglia (Reading, Pa.) recorded the third-fastest time for the Seton Hall women on Saturday, crossing the line in 15:48.4 to claim 15th place. It was a fifth career top-20 overall finish for Quaglia who has now scored for the team 14 times since debuting just over two years ago.
Rounding out the scoring group on the women's side were a pair of Pirates who finished in quick succession as sophomore Desyre Blackburn (Aloha, Ore.) (15:53.3) and freshman Bailey Seach (Winston Salem, N.C.) (15;53.9) clocked in in 19th and 20th-place respectively.
The result extends Blackburn's scoring streak to 10 after she ranked among the top-three performers on the squad in all nine meets last fall while Seach's effort gave The Hall two freshmen scorers in the same race since Quaglia and classmate Alex Ryan (Aurora, Colo.) accomplished the feat at the 2012 ECAC Championships.
Fellow newcomers Emily Johnson (Wildwood Crest, N.J.) and Emily Curran (Wakefield, Mass.) came in just outside the scoring group for Seton Hall, demonstrating the improved depth of the squad.
Lafayette junior Stephanie Benko posted a time of 14:48.7 to earn the individual title while freshman Danielle Leavitt recorded a time of 14:59.8 to lead seven Hawks in the top-10 for the team champions Monmouth.
The Pirates will return to action on Sunday, September 7 at the St. John's-Hofstra Fall Festival in Oakdale, N.Y.
