HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — The New Jersey City University men's and women's cross country squads continued the strong starts to their seasons on Saturday, Sept. 25. The men placed third overall at the 8K Penn State Abington Invitational at Lorimer Park, led by sophomore Julius Libutsi's (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) third-place finish, while the women were led by senior captain April Gutierrez' (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) ninth-place finish in the 5K.

On the men's side, 13 teams competed on the 8K course and Ursinus College took home the team title with 39 points. Pratt Institute came in second with 70 points and just behind the Cannoneers were the Gothic Knights in third with 74 points. Individually, Libutsi came in third with a time of 28:58.50. Five other NJCU runners placed within the top 25 in the 99-runner field. Junior Jaime Tlatelpa (Jersey City, N.J./University Academy Charter) placed 15th with a time of 30:23.50, while sophomore Erich Fennelly (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg) and junior Jose Recinos (Union City, N.J./Union City) came in 19th and 20th with times of 30:41.70 and 31:02.80, respectively. Rounding out the top 25 was sophomore Topu Saha (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) (31:39.80).

Sophomore Jake Sisk (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) came in 36th with a time of 33:09.20, followed by senior Fahim Chowdhury (Bayonne, N.J./County Prep) in 37th at 33:17.90. Junior Denilson Lopez (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) came in 39th (33:41.40), while rookie Vladimir Pericles (/) (35:30.00) came in 50th.

On the women's side, 10 teams competed but NJCU did not score. Three Gothic Knights ran on the 5K course, led by Gutierrez. The senior captain placed ninth with a time of 23:53.70 out of the 74 competitors. Junior Tiffany Ortiz (Jersey City, N.J./University Academy Charter) came in 16th place with a time of 25:12.30. Sophomore Jonalee Perez (/) made her NJCU debut and came in 59th overall with a time of 31:04.30.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights will take another week off before returning to action on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 9, in Milton, N.Y., at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome for the 13th Annual Mount Saint Mary College Knight Invitational.