The College of Staten Island women’s cross-country lead had quite the entry to the 2014 campaign this morning, as a trio of Victoria’s led CSI to a victory over other CUNYAC schools and a fourth place finish overall at the Queensborough Community College Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York. Victoria Crea, Victoria Gallinaro and Victoria Barry finished 1-2-3 for the Dolphins, leading the squad to what was 154 points overall, good enough to finish tops among CUNYAC schools.
Yeshiva University won the meet outright with 75 points, followed by the Fashion Institute of Technology’s 93 markers. Pratt Institute came in third with 106 points followed by CSI. The next CUNYAC school to place was John Jay with 162 points, good for 6th overall.
Crea was the first to cross at 23:39.50, good for 20th overall in the field and first among CUNYAC runners. Gallinaro came in 29th overall in her first collegiate competitive race, with a time of 23:31.40, followed by Barry’s 24:48.70 time, good for 36th. Also making their CSI debuts were Frances Gonzalez (25:02, 40th Place) and Jamie Pifalo (26:37.60, 60th), who rounded out the scoring side. Alyssa Carlsen (28:49.20, 76th) and Rebecca Vidal (29:23.80, 82nd), also placed for CSI.
The result was a promising one for Head Coach Robert Russo, and marked the first first-place trophy they have gotten amongst CUNYAC sides in recent memory.
“The women all ran excellent, especially the first-timers,” noted Russo. “They showed they could perform well as a team and we are only now coming together as a unit. It’s a great sign of things to come.”
Up next for CSI will be a Saturday race against Bard College coming up next weekend.
For complete results on today’s race, click here.
