LANGHORNE, Pa. — The New Jersey City University men's and women's cross country squads opened the 2021 Fall campaign with a bang this afternoon, Friday, September 3, at the Cairn University Invitational. The NJCU men finished in first place out of four teams in the 4K race, while the women earned two top-six individual finishes. Sophomore Julius Libutsi (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) also claimed the men's individual title, as the Gothic Knight men had seven runners finish in the top 10.

In the first race of the season, a tune-up of sorts, the Gothic Knights saw a multitude of success. The other institutions competing on the afternoon were the hosting Highlanders, FDU-Florham and Bryn Athyn College. Libutsi was the only runner on the day to finish the 4K course in under 14:00 minutes, clocking a time of 13:48. Finishing right behind him was classmate Jake Sisk (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) who came in at 14:09. Fourth place was claimed by another Jersey City sophomore, Erich Fennelly (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg), in a time of 14:53.

Closing out the top five with another sub-15:00 time was junior Jose Recinos (Union City, N.J./Union City) with a time of 14:55. Junior Adnan Kpodo (Irvington, N.J./Irvington) (15:18) and senior Fahim Chowdhury (Bayonne, N.J./County Prep) (15:32) placed sixth and eighth for NJCU, respectively, followed closely by ninth-place finisher junior Denilson Lopez (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) at 15:36.

On the women's side, FDU took home the team title, however senior captain April Gutierrez (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) cracked the top five with a time of 18:05 on the 4K course. She was followed closely by junior Tiffany Ortiz (Jersey City, N.J./University Academy Charter) in sixth place at 18:59.

UP NEXT:
The Gothic Knights return to action next weekend, Saturday, September 11, in Purchase, N.Y., for the Purchase College Invite. The race begins at 9:30 a.m. on the Panthers' campus.