FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence cross country teams hit the trail at Bethpage State Park this weekend as part of the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by St. Joseph's Long Island. The meet serves as a preview of this year's Skyline Championships meet that will also be held at Bethpage.
 

Leading the women's team was Ali Xhafa, continuing her solid start to the season by finishing 33rd with a time of 23:46.12. Skyline Rookie of the Week Sadie de Beer followed closely in 38th at 24:14.62, while fellow newcomer Caitlin McCabe placed 42nd at 24:40.17. SLC's Haley Balka took 90th at 29:52.35, teammate Mauli Chopra crossed the line for a 93rd-place finish at 30:48.20, Genevieve Clark finished 94th with a time of 30:50.43, and Jessica O'Donnell ccompleted the course in 32:04.68 for another top-100 finish. Maddie Thompson rounded out SLC's competitors in the 5k race, finishing in 33:07.78.

On the men's side, Gavin Wright and Thomas Matonti led the way, with 79th- and 80th-place finishes, both completing the 8k course in just over 34 minutes. Aidan Morel and Noah Carey added two more top-100 finishes for the Gryphons, with Morel completing the course in 35:15.39, good for 86th place, while Carey was 12 spots behind with a 37:07.04 time. Ansel Stover-Whilden rounded out the team's competitors in the 8k race with a 42:46.92 finish for the Gryphons.

Up Next

The Gryphons will return to the trail on Sunday, October 6th as they participate in the Queensborough Invite held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The meet is schedule to begin at 11:00 a.m. as SLC looks to continue their strong start to the season before Skyline Championships in November.