RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Ten new recruits have been added to the Manhattan College Cross Country team for the 2023 season, it was announced by
Kerri Inman, the former USA international miler who will be starting her third season as Director of Cross Country, Track & Field at Manhattan College.
Freshmen
Bailee Christofis (Desert Vista, Phoenix, AZ),
Julia Hendricks (Shenendehowa, Clifton Park, N.Y. and
Anne Niger (Oswego, Oswego, N.Y.) should bolster the Jasper women's team looking to improve upon its seventh-place showing at the 2022 MAAC Women's Cross Country Championships.
Christofis is an All-Arizona scholastic runner who finished 8
th in the 2022 AIA State Cross Country Championships. Hendricks specialized in the 800 and 1,500 meters on the track while Niger is another middle distance specialist who adds depth to Jasper women's cross country.
On the men's side, Inman has added seven new runners including the University of Texas – Arlington transfer
Jared Lautenslager (Nelson, New Zealand),
Sonny Maund (London, England),
Colby Micheels (Archbishop Wood, Warminster, PA);
Adam Guzman (Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy, Bronx, N.Y.);
Mason Cohen (Wildwood School, Los Angeles, CA);
Patrick Fox (North Rockland, Thiells, N.Y.) and
James Barnacle (St. John's College, Washington, DC) who promise to bolster the men's cross country fortunes for Inman's Jasper harriers.
Lautenslager, a former New Zealand U-20 national 3,000 and 5,000-meter champion, is the fourth member of his family to compete in the USA as a Division 1 runner. His father, Greg, was coach and director of New Zealand's National Academy of Distance Running and his mother, Debra, was a five-time, World Cross Country Championships competitor for the Kiwi's. Maund comes to the U.S. with strong performances ranging from 1500m to 10,000m whose versatility will be a significant asset to the cross country squad.
"We're bringing in a well-rounded, enthusiastic and motivated group of cross country newcomers", said Inman. "It will be a fun season honing their skills and integrating them into the team chemistry as we prepare to significantly improve on last year's finishes at the MAAC Cross Country Championship."
Manhattan College Cross Country – who trains at neighboring Van Cortlandt Park, one of America's most historic and challenging cross country courses – will host the 2023 MAAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 28 at Twin Ponds on the Farm in Montgomery, New York.
