Middletown, N.J.  At the 7th Annual Monmouth Invitational, held at Tatum Park in Middletown, N.J., the St. Johns University mens and womens cross country teams opened the 2001 seasons. The mens team finished their first meet with a respectable 7th place finish out of 15 teams, while the womens team ended up 15th out of 18 schools.

Cornell University placed first in the mens race with 23 points, as they were led by five top ten finishes, including Max King and Bryce Hyde who finished first and second overall. King finished with a time of 25:25.4, setting a new course record.

Cornell University also took the womens title, as they finished with 40 points, barely beating out Penn State University who finished with 43. The individual womens winner was Katie Kopacz of St. Peters College posting a time of 18:21, breaking the course record by more than 27 seconds.

The Red Storm men was led by a strong finish by senior Jose Zayas who finished 13th with a time of 26:35.3. This meet marked Zayas return to the cross country team, as he redshirted last season because of injury. Sophomore Greg Mason finished second on the team with a 49th place finish and a time of 27:53.3.

Sophomore Jen Lebowitz was the womens team top finisher with a time of 20:38.7 for a 79th place finish. Lebowitz narrowly edged teammate Lynn Medjuck for the honor, as the senior finished in 83rd place with a time of 20:41.2.

The cross country team returns to action on Saturday, September 29 for the Iona Invitational in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Mens Cross Country Results
13.	Jose Zayas		26:35.3
49.	Greg Mason		27:53.3
64.	Sean Tremblay	        28:19.1
72.	Pete Alfano		28:41.7
77.	Andy Mitchell		28:50.8
94.	Brian Steeves		29:35.2
109.	Kevin Pflug		30:36.3
122.	Rob Cangialosi	        31:41.8
127.	John Reynolds		31:57.2

Mens Team Scores
1.	Cornell University	23 points
2.	Fairleigh Dickinson	45 points
7.	St. Johns University	200 points

Womens Cross Country Results
79.	Jen Lebowitz		20:38.7
83.	Lynn Medjuck		20:41.2
168.	Charline Sealy		23:48.0
186.	Judy Williams		26:18.7
196.	Kathleen OMalley	27:47.9


Womens Team Scores
1.	Cornell University	40 points
2.	Penn State Univ.	43 points
15.	St. Johns Univeristy	407 points