PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Panther men and women opened the 2022 campaign on their home course Saturday morning. The squad was met with tough competition and temperatures in the high 80s as they played host to 16 teams at the annual Purchase College Cross Country Invitational.

RESULTS

The morning opened with the women's 6K race. Purchase finished sixth as a team with 147 points, trailing just one point behind Pace University who earned the fifth spot with 146 points.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Pratt Institute and Farmingdale State earned first, second and third place, respectively.

STAC senior Skylar Moreno was the top individual performer, clocking in at a notable 19:26.6.

A rookie trio made their collegiate racing debut as freshmen Sophie Morrison (24:53.7), Ruby Michael (27:59.6) and Stella Hollier (28:39.7) earned the top three finishes for Purchase. Senior Anna Duffy (30:02.5), freshman Siona Lee (35:28.6) and sophomore Abigail Frederick (36:55.4) rounded out a solid performance from the team.

The Purchase men competed against a field of eight teams in the 8K event, including top finisher St. Thomas Aquinas and runner-up Baruch College. The Panthers tallied a team score of 127.

STAC's Andrew Drescher took home first place with an impressive time of 27:56.3.   

Purchase rookie sensation Robert Royston led the home team with an overall time of 29:27.8, earning him a top-10 finish at the No. 8 spot.

Following Royston, freshmen Philip Dragovich and George Reid clocked in at 32.57.8 and 35:57.8, respectively.

Sophomore Samuel Teich (36:04.6), freshman Andrew Agosto (39:00.4) and sophomore Lucas Colon (40:20) capped the list of finishers for Purchase.  

Up next, Purchase is set to travel to the Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton, N.Y. for an invitational hosted by SUNY New Paltz on Sept. 16.