Men’s Cross Country Carries Momentum into Rider Invitational

Friday, September 15

Pennington, NJ

5:45 PM

Rutgers University

Rider Invitational

Men’s Cross Country Carries Momentum into Rider Invitational

Sep 14 | Men's Cross Country

2017 Times Rosedale Park Course

Scarlet Knights to line up against five programs at Rosedale Park

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Sept. 14, 2017) – Rutgers men's cross country is set for race No. 3 of the 2017 season, an 8,000-meter scamper through Rosedale Park in Pennington, N.J. for the Rider Invitational.

The Course
The Rosedale Park course is a combination of dirt, grass and stone dust. The starting and finishing stretches border Rosedale Lake, and the middle of the course features two loops around flat, wooded trails. Juniors Conor Murphy and Ryan Gross each set their personal records in the 8K on this course in 2016 and 2015, respectively.

The Competition
The men's field consists of Rutgers, Rider, St. Joseph's, Niagara, Temple and Cumberland CC.

The Expectations
Head coach Mike Mulqueen: "This will be a good, early season race. It's a small race, so the hope is to continue running as a group as we prepare for the championship races in October."

The Last Time Out
Rutgers finished in second place with four top 10 finishes at the Fordham Fiasco last Saturday in a preview of the Metropolitan and IC4A Championship race courses at Van Cortlandt Park.

For the second straight week to open the season, sophomore Cole Pschunder was the first Rutgers runner across the finish line. He finished second overall out of 47 DI harriers with a time of 26:18.09, just 1.5 seconds behind the individual champion.

The Rank
RU has been ranked 10th in the Mid-Atlantic by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in the first regional rankings of the 2017 season. Rutgers has been able to secure its Top 10 ranking with a first place team finish to start the season at the Lehigh Invitational, followed up by a second place team result at the Fordham Fiasco.

The Squad
Junior Conor Murphy led the Scarlet Knights in five of seven meets, including all of championship season in the fall of 2016. Murphy paced the team in the Big Ten, NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and IC4A meets, highlighted by an All-University East Performer award at the IC4A Championships.

Junior Dom Munson joined Murphy on the All-University East Performer list following a 17th place finish at the IC4A Championships. Munson led the Scarlet Knights with a sixth-place individual time of 24:57.07 at the Rider Invitational early last season. Seniors Alexander Livernois and Trent Brinkofski were also on the All-University East Performer accolades at IC4A's, and head into their final season in Scarlet.

Brinkofski was honored twice as a junior by the Big Ten as a recipient of the Sportsmanship Award and as an Athlete of the Week following his fifth place finish at the Metropolitan Championships in October.

Mulqueen welcomes five newcomers to the Scarlet Knights this fall, including four freshmen. Billy Hill, Tom Holster and Patrick Walsh are all rookies coming off All-State senior high school seasons. Walsh was also a Group 1 cross country champion. Genaro Anzalone was named an All-American last fall at Christian Brothers Academy, and sophomore Sean Martinek joins the team this year with experience as a Non-Public A State indoor champion in the 800-meter.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's cross country, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgers_MensTF). The team is also on Facebook (facebook.com/ RutgersMensTF/).

- RU -