The Black Knights hosted the 3rd annual Army Prep Open @ Holmdel Park (5k for men and women) on Friday 6 November. Once again the competing teams were the Army JV, Army Prep, Stevens Institute, and the Shore AC. Leading the way for the Prepster men was Joe Mangan with a 5th place finish in a time of 17:34. Alek Hughes finished in 6th place with a time of 18:04. Trey Huff took 8th place honors with a time of 18:14. The Army Prep women were led by Julissa Wilson (5th in 22:25) and Teresa Love (6th in 24:10).

The Army Prep Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams hosted their service academy rival Navy Prep on Saturday 17 October @ Holmdel Park in conjunction with our annual USMAPS Parents Weekend festivities. The weather conditions were cold, windy, with a few sprinkles before the women’s 5k. Tough conditions for all, but it could have been much worse.

The Black Knight women started things off with Julissa Wilson claiming first place honors covering the 5k course in 22:25.40 (season best time). Right on Wilson’s heels was Ruthie Rosenberger to claim second place honors in 22:26.00 (season best time). Rounding out the Army Prep women’s scoring was Teresa Love with a 4th place finish in 24:01.00 (season best time), Gabriella Allong with a 5th place finish in 24:10.80, and Tiffany Mincey 7th place in 24:53.00 (season best time).

Navy Prep fielded an incomplete women’s team (no team score tabulated) as they were down to two healthy runners good for 3rd and 6th place finishes respectively. It was an excellent overall team showing by the Army Prep women…please congratulate them on their fine performances and their victory over Navy Prep!

The Army Prep men were defeated by rival Navy Prep by a 21-37 score. The Black Knight men were paced by Zach Rideout who covered the very difficult 8k course in a season best time of 29:01.00 (4th place). Joe Mangan was right behind (5th place) with a season best time of 29:01.30. Finishing in 7th place was Alek Hughes with a time of 29:44.00. Alek is new to XC and Track and is gaining valuable experience this year @ USMAPS. He chopped an amazing 3:01.00 off his previous best Holmdel 8k time. Finishing in 8th place was Trey Huff in a season best time of 30:25.00. Zach Taylor rounded out the USMAPS men’s scoring with a season best time of 33:09.00. Please congratulate the Black Knight men’s team as they did an excellent job in the always competitive “Little” Army/Navy meet.

The Army Prep harriers will host the Army JV, Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken), and the Shore AC @ Holmdel Park on 6 November. The running will start at 1530 hours with all teams running the 5k course due to the pending Daylight Savings Time change on 1 November.

The 16th annual Army Prep Invitational was held in conjunction with the 15th annual Monmouth University Invitational this past Saturday 10 October @ Holmdel Park. Competing teams were Army Prep, Monmouth University, Canisius College, Central Connecticut State University, Delaware Valley College Felician College, Cumberland CC, Middlesex CC, Lackawanna CC, and Ocean CC. The weather was overcast and rainy. The competition and course were arduous.

The Black Knight men were led by Zach Rideout who covered the college men’s 8k course in 29:38.7 (23rd), Joe Mangan 29:56.8 (27th), Trey Huff 32:03.7 (48th), Alek Hughes 32:45.7 (53rd), and Zach Taylor 35:36.8 (58th). The Black Knight women were led by Ruth Rosenberger who completed the 5k course in 22:39.6 (41st), Teresa Love 24:55.9 (60th), Tiffany Mincey 25:27.1 (63rd), and Katherine Mucke 25:32.2 (64th). Team scoring saw the Army Prep men finish in 5th place and the Army Prep women in 7th place.

Next up the Black Knight harriers will be the “Little” Army/Navy dual meet on Saturday 17 October @ Holmdel Park. The women will start the running at 1030 hours. The men will follow at 1115 hours. The meet this year will be held in conjunction with our annual USMAPS Parents Weekend festivities. Directions to Holmdel Park can be found at www.monmouthcountyparks.com/. The address for Holmdel Park is 44 Longstreet Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733.

The Black Knight harriers competed in the 36th annual Paul Short Open hosted by Lehigh University. As always, this is an awesome experience for the prepsters due to the number of colleges running and the top shelf level of competition. The Army Prep men ran first this week (8k) in the College White Division. Joe Mangan led the way with a 76th place finish (out of 245 runners) in a time of 27:52. Rounding out the Black Knights were Zach Rideout (28:23), Alek Hughes (29:21), Trey Huff (30:00), and Jacob Flynn (32:30).

The Army Prep women ran the 6k course in the College White Division. Ruthie Rosenberger led the way for the lady harriers completing the course in 25:45. Rounding out the Black Knight women were Teresa Love (28:02), Julissa Wilson (28:48), Emily McManus (31:11), and Tiffany Mincey (31:34). The College White women’s race had 248 runners. Please find official meet results at www.paulshortxcrun.com.

The Black Knights will run in the 16th annual Army Prep Invitational @ Holmdel Park in Holmdel, NJ. Army Prep will share billing with the Monmouth University Invitational, so it will be another great opportunity for the prepsters. The running action will begin @ 1000 hours.

The Army Prep Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams hosted Valley Forge Military Academy @ Holmdel Park this past Saturday 12 September. The women ran the 5k course and the men the 8k course.

The weather conditions were rainy throughout the meet with the temperature 65*. The Army Prep men came out victorious in the dual meet by a 16 - 29 score. Leading the way for the men were Joe Mangan (1st 30:16), Zach Rideout (2nd 31:29), Trey Huff (3rd 32:02), Alek Hughes (4th 33:42), and Jake Flynn (6th 34:58).

The women were led by Julissa Wilson (1st 23:06), Teresa Love (2nd 24:32), Katherine Mucke (3rd 25:40), Tiffany Mincey (4th 27:25), and Emily McManus (5th 28:03). Valley Forge did not field a women’s team this year.

Next up the for Black Knights will be the Stevens Institute Invitational on 25 September at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. This meet is always a team favorite as it is contested with the NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop. The meet will start at 1500 hours.

The Black Knights opened the 2009 XC campaign @ the Army Open in West Point, NY on Friday 4 September. The meet made its way back to the West Point Golf Course this year and, as always, the course and competition were very challenging. Competing teams were Army, Army Prep, Ramapo College, and Manhattanville College. The men and women each ran the 5k course. Official results can be found @ www.goarmysports.com <http://www.goarmysports.com/> .

The Army Prep men were led by Joe Mangan with a 25th place finish covering the course in 17:50.50. Next up was Zach Rideout finishing 30th with a time of 19:12.90. Alek Hughes finished 33rd (19:39.20). Trey Huff finished 35th (19:57.20) and Jake Flynn took 40th in 20:55.30.

The Army Prep women were led by Julissa Wilson with a 20th place finish with a time of 22:48.40. Tiffany Mincey finished in 28th place with a time of 26:52.00. Emily McManus rounded out the Black Knights with a time of 28:26.10. The Prepsters will be back in action on Saturday 12 September when they take on Valley Forge Military Academy @ Holmdel Park. The meet will start at 1030 hours.