Galloway, NJ – The Montclair State University Women's Cross Country team was fueled by a pair of program top ten marks en route to a fifth place finish at the Osprey Open on Saturday morning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks were led by MARY DACLAN, who posted a time of 24:10.3 to rank 22nd among the field. MIA GERACE was close behind in 24th, clocking in at 24:16.9. Rounding out the top trio for Montclair was MADISON BERNHARD in 26th, notching a time of 24:28.4.
• SOPHIA PAINTER posted a mark of 24:54.5, placing 35th among the field. In her first race in two years, JULIE MURPHY recorded a time of 25:04.3 to finish 39th. 
• ALISSA TAYLOR (25:36.5), ADRIANNA SORIANO (25:48.5), and HALEY MURPHY (26:40.9) also made up the group for the Red Hawks.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Daclan's performance places her ninth in program history, with Gerace right behind in 10th. 
• Bernhard added to her breakout freshman campaign with a time that places 12th in school history. Painter moved into 17th in program history with her time.
• Gerace and Taylor each tallied new personal bests at the meet.
• Montclair's top five average time of 24:35.0 was faster than any meet last season, outside of NCAA Metro Regionals.
• As a team, the Red Hawks collected 129 points to finish fifth, their highest-ever finish at the Osprey Open in the modern era of the program.

FROM THE MEET

"We were outstanding today. This was the best team performance that I've witnessed as the coach of this program. To do what we did today, without three of our top runners, just shows how strong our team is from top to bottom. Numerous personal-bests and top 20 times. Couldn't be more proud of and excited for this outstanding group!" - Head Coach Rich O'Connor

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to the Paul Short Run on Friday, October 2. The meet is scheduled for 10:15 AM in Bethlehem, PA.