It's been an exciting weekend for the College of Staten Island.  Less than 24 hours after taking home the CUNYAC Women's Tennis Championship, the Dolphins secured their second in as many days, as CSI raced to a first place finish in the 2013 CUNYAC/Army ROTC Men's Cross-Country Championship at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.  Junior captain Andrew Pate scored a first place finish for the Dolphins, who had all five scoring runners place in the top 15 at the meet.  For the Dolphins, it was the school's first cross-country championship since the school adopted the varsity sport in 2007 and the first championship for head coach Robert Russo.

"Our men were focused on proving that they could be a championship team," said Russo.  "I am so proud to see this result in a victory after a long season of training and racing well.  This was truly much-deserved."

In an 8k race that many thought of as too close to call going in, the minutes that passed at the conclusion of the race felt like hours, with tension building the entire way.  Before the scoring process though, the Dolphins were busy turning out their best performance of the season.  Pate, CSI's all-time fastest 8k runner since the program elevated from club status in 2007, was right on track, sprinting to a time of 29:18, his fastest time of the season at Van Cortlandt Park by a whopping 32 seconds.  At first, it appeared that Pate may have finished in fourth place, but upon further review, the meet's would-be top-three racers were disqualified having unintentionally cut a leg of the course en route to the finish.  The result left Pate as the meet's winner, justified by his terrific time.

Pushed the entire way, his own teammates were quick to the chase.  Freshman Justin Mills clocked in at 30:37, bettering his former best time at VCP by four seconds, while 2012 Rookie of the Year Samuel Obisanya was a few beats behind at 30:52.  After the field's top 10 crossed, it was time for CSI's final two scorers to touch down.  Freshman Kenneth Morella finished 12th overall with a time of 31:13, his fastest VCP time of his career, while fellow frosh Kenneth Halwani was good for 15th, clocking in at 31:48.  For Russo, the run by the top five was nothing short of exceptional.

"They knew they were up against some tough competition, especially with close rivals John Jay, Hunter, and Baruch, but they really gave their best," Russo said.  "We knew what we had to do to try and bring out the best in ourselves and I'm glad they left everything out on the course today."

Rounding out the race was Richard Ruggiero, placing 34th overall with a time of 34:10, Patrick Kettyle's time of 37:16, and Shawn Cybulska's time of 38:00.  The meet was attended by a total of 87 racers, 57 from the senior college level.  While it is undetermined how the disqualifications of the top three runners affected the overall scoring, the race was incredibly tight.  CSI tallied a total of 45 points, followed by John Jay's 49, making the final one of the closest of all time.  Baruch followed in third place with 67 points.  Also tallying in the results was (in order): CCNY (124), York (125), Hunter (131), Brooklyn (183), Lehman (218) and Medgar Evers (225).

The CSI women were also on hand for the earlier 6k meet this morning, and although the Dolphins only scored an 8th place team finish, the exceptional race by sophomore Victoria Barry turned more than a few heads.  Barry posted an outstanding time of 27:20, medaling at the No. 4 position overall with what was easily her finest 6k run of the year.

"That was a strong top ten finish today for Victoria," said Russo.  "You can see how her hard work and determination paid off for her.  We couldn't be happier because she deserved it."

Rounding out the order for CSI was Jacqueline Jamaleddine's time of 30:54, followed by Rebecca Vidal's 37:16, Ayat Odeh's 38:26, Jacqueline Lewis with a time of 39:42, and Angela Qualgliotti's run of 40:14.

For Russo, the race for the women was a step in the right direction, as the young team is still getting traction in the quest for improvement.  "The women came together in the end with a team score that leaves plenty of room for improvement that we can build up for next year's cross-country season."

Baruch College won the women's meet with a score of 29 points, easily besting Hunter's 78, followed by John Jay (83), Brooklyn (94), CCNY (131), Lehman (141), York (146), and CSI's 180.

"As a coach, I am proud of this squad and what they accomplished," Russo said.  "We have a young team with a bright future who set the bar high for themselves as we move forward."

The teams will move forward indeed.  Next weekend, the team will participate in the Nick Russo NJIT Classic at Van Cortlandt Park, before attention turns to the NCAA Regionals at SUNY-Geneseo in mid-November where the CSI men look to continue their magical run.