Mooney Wins Brandywine Invitational; Men Finish Second

MEDIA, Pa. -- Sophomore Catharine Mooney (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) claimed medalist honors during the women's race, while the Penn State Brandywine men's squad posted a second-place team finish to highlight the Penn State Brandywine Cross Country Invitational on Saturday morning.

After recording three runner-up finishes during her two-year career, Mooney made history by becoming the first Brandywine woman to capture first place during an invitational. Her time of 27:46 was 25 seconds faster than Sara Lowe of Camden County College, who finished as the runner-up, and was the third-fastest 6K mark of her career as she paced the field of 45 women.

Fiorella Ruiz (Carteret, N.J./East Brunswick) and Angel Asomugha (Brookhaven, Pa./Sun Valley) rounded out the Lion women, finishing back-to-back. Ruiz posted a time of 38:45, while Asomugha tallied a personal-best time of 39:53.

In a field of 11 teams, the largest in the event's history, Brandywine's men's team claimed second place after accumulating 77 points. Penn State Fayette took home the team title with a score of 41 points.

Topping the Brandywine men were Brian Abel (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) and Alex Rosenberry (Etters, Pa./West Shore Christian), who both placed in the top 10. Abel was the 8K race's runner-up (29:12), while Rosenberry was the sixth runner to cross the finish line (30:04).

Stephen Heck (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and Alex Consadene (Anodver, Conn./RHAM) finished consecutively in 21st and 22nd positions, respectively, while Ryan Cassidy (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) placed 26th. Heck ran to a time of 32:54 and Consadene hit the finish line four seconds later. Cassidy finished in 33:35.

Tyler Cameron (Pocopson, Pa./Unionville) recorded a time of 34:34 to take 31st, while Brendan Cleary (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) registered in at 35:21, finishing 35th in the 96-man field.

Brandywine will run its final races of the regular season next Saturday when the Lions compete in Salisbury University's Don Cathcart Invitational.