NEW YORK — St. Joseph's University, New York (Brooklyn) first-year runner Jon-Marcus Diaz (Corona, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) has been named the Skyline Conference Men's Cross Country Rookie of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon.
Teammates Ganilo Quintos (Quincy, Mass./Christ the King) and Jennifer Sarji (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall Academy) also received honorable mentions from the conference following their performances at Saturday's NJIT Highlander Invitational.
Diaz clocked a personal-best 8K time of 32:21.7, finishing 71st overall. He was one of three Bears men to set personal records at the meet, while all five of the team's scorers recorded season-best times.
The Queens native becomes the fourth member of the SJBK men's cross country team to ever earn Skyline Rookie of the Week honors and the first since Quintos received the recognition last October.
Quintos also delivered a personal-best performance, completing the course in 30:46.5 to finish among the top 50 competitors. His time ranks as the second-fastest 8K performance by a Bear on the Branch Brook Park course in program history.
On the women's side, Sarji recorded a time of 24:01.0 in the 5K, marking the third-fastest performance by a Bears woman on the course. She placed 35th overall and helped lead the team to an eighth-place finish.
The Bears will close out their regular-season schedule at the St. Joseph's (Long Island) Invitational on Saturday, October 17, at 11 a.m., their final meet before the Skyline Conference Championships.
