JERSEY CITY, N.J. — On a rainy day with a muddy course at Lincoln Park, the New Jersey City University men's and women's cross country teams opened their abbreviated 2020-21 seasons on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the St. Peter's University Invitational. Both teams saw a large amount of success, led by the men's team who came away with the first-place finish as five Gothic Knights finished in the top 10 of the four-mile event. The women had three runners compete in the 5k event on the day, including the second-place finisher individually.

There were three competing teams and 20 total runners on the men's side — NJCU, St. Peter's and Essex County Community College. Individually, the Gothic Knights' highest finisher was sophomore Jose Recinos (Union City, NJ/Union City) with a time of 19:55.74. Behind him in sixth place was fellow second-year runner Jaime Tlatelpa (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter) in a time 20:15.00. He was followed less than a second later by rookie Julius Libutsi (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) in seventh at 20:15.97. Two other rookies — Topu Saha (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) and Jake Sisk (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) — closed out the top 10 in ninth (21:07.31) and 10th (21:08.53), respectively.

For the women, the 10 runners were comprised of three Gothic Knights and seven Peacocks. Junior April Gutierrez (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) placed second overall, finishing with a time of 16:59.62. NJCU's next-best finisher was rookie Samantha Castillo (Elizabeth, N.J./Alexander Hamilton Prep), who placed sixth in 19:04.46. Freshman Jackeline Lopez (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) closed out the group in ninth place in 20:04.06.

Both squads are set to return to the course next Saturday, March 6, in Galloway, N.J., for the Stockton University Invitational. The men are scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start, with the women to follow at 10:45 a.m.