NEWARK, N.J. – Following up one of their best meets of the season last week at Bethpage State Park, the Pace University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Highlander XC Challenge on Saturday.
 
Women's Recap (14^th Place)
Graduate student Molly Darfler-Sweeney (Tannersville, N.Y./Hunter-Tannersville) once again impressed as Pace's top finisher. The Greene County native placed 49^th in a time of 21:32.92.
 
Sophomore captain Mery Mizell followed Darfler-Sweeney with a 57^th-place effort (22:14.27) while freshman Jordan Etheridge (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) finished in 79^th (23:54.06). 
 
The Setters' final two scorers were sophomore Samira Bawa (Bronx, N.Y./Metropolitan Lighthouse College Preparatory Academy) and freshman Emma Voykhanskaya (Brooklyn, N.Y./Edward R. Murrow). Bawa put forth a time of 28:21.33 (132^nd) while Voykhanskaya posted a time of 28:45.73.
 
Men's Recap (22^nd Place)
Junior captain CJ Defeo (East Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) was once again Pace's top scorer for the fifth straight meet. The Long Island native finished 52^nd with a time of 29:00.97. 

Freshman Francesco DiBona (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) and senior Ceasar Lugo (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) served as Pace's next two finishers in 141^st and 145^th. DiBona tallied a time of 35:45.21 while Lugo rounded the course in 36:16.85.
 
Seniors Nicholas Becker (Lynbrook, N.Y./East Rockaway) and Ryan Murphy (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake) rounded out the Pace attack in 178^th and 184^th place respectively. Becker posted a mark of 41:17.64 while Murphy clocked in at 44:44.06.
 
Up Next
The Setters will take part in the St. Joseph's Invitational next Saturday (Oct. 15).