NEWARK, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's cross country team had another strong showing, taking 22nd in a 31-team field as they competed in the Technology XC Challenge at Branch Brook Park in Newark, N.J. on October 5. They were led once again by their strong freshman core, one of whom, Jaime Tlatelpa (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter), posted a top-three time since the program's return in 2003.
 
Tlatelpa was the top Gothic Knight harrier for the first time in his NJCU career, as he finished 76th with a time of 28:00.35 (5:38.1 pace), the third-best time since the program's return, trailing only Joseph Carroll (27:34.90; 27:45.00) and Jonathan Franklin (27:48.90).

"Jaime ran a brilliant race today, he took some chances out there that paid off big."  head coach Patrick O'Neill said. "His race IQ has grown a lot over the course of this first month and that was truly evident today."
 
Not far behind Tlatelpa was Jose Recinos (Union City, NJ/Union City) with a time of 28:31.56 (5:44.4 pace), good for 90th in the 277-harrier field.
 
Two more 2019 debutants took third and fourth in the NJCU lineup, as Samuel Colon III (Newark, NJ/Eagle Academy) (29:34.71) and Jaskirt Singh (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) (30:12.70) posted strong times before senior Muhammed Jawneh (South River, NJ/South River) (31:01.00) brought some veteran presence to the lineup in the fifth spot.

"Our men's team ran the best race of the season today," O'Neill said. "We had nine guys with PRs. That's exactly what you want to see in October and bodes well going into championship season."
 
Rounding out the Knights' scoring lineup were Adnan Kpodo (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) (32:52.93) and Xavier Freeman (Newark, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep) (33:39.46). The rest of the Knights, in order: Kalel Redd (Somerset, NJ/Franklin), Ali Chaudhry (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris), Donald Luxama (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge), Josiah Ramkellawan (Jersey City, NJ/James J. Ferris), and Roger Campbell (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson).
 
Host team New Jersey Institute won the meet, while Noah Simatei (Eldoret, Kenya) of NYIT was the top overall individual performer.
 
UP NEXT:
The Knights now have nearly a full month to recuperate and train before heading to the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships on November 2 in Galloway, N.J.
 
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