During the fall semester, the City University of New York Athletic Conference will look back at some of its historic fall championship teams, recognizing the rich tradition of athletic excellence by the league’s 13 member institutions.
The 2008 City University of New York Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships was a morning of firsts for the Brooklyn College men’s and women’s cross-country teams, when each squad secured its first conference championship in program history.
On the men’s side, led by CUNYAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
Steve Podia, Brooklyn had five runners finish among the top-25 of the field.
Timothy Mann was the first to break the tape for the Bulldogs (then called the Bridges), finishing in 29:11.
Arvind Badhey (29:53) and
Patrick O’Leary-Gullo (30:11) finished 10th and 11th, respectively, while
Aaron Gross finished 20th overall with a mark of 31:09 and
Adam Metzler finished 25th in 31:48.
Though Brooklyn put together a strong performance, the squad actually tied for first place with Hunter, as each school accumulated 58 points each. However, with the cross country tiebreaker being the best No. 6 finisher from each team, it was Brooklyn’s
Marlon Thornton breaking the finish line plane in 33:16.8 - just 2.3 seconds ahead of the Hawks’
Legenry Sosa. At the time, the mark signaled the closest team finish since the CUNYAC Championships were instituted in 1989.
On the women’s side, led by CUNYAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
Alex Lang, Brooklyn placed two runners in the top-10, highlighted by a fourth-place effort from
Joanne Mundo, the league’s Rookie of the Year.
Khrystyna Uhlitskykh was the second Bulldog to complete the course, finishing ninth in 27:23.
Huan Zhang was the No. 3 runner, finishing 13th overall in 28:18, while
Julie Davolos finished 18th with a time of 28:50. Rounding out the top five runners for Brooklyn was
Leah Wimpfheimer, who completed the race in 30:16.
Overall, Brooklyn posted a score of 57, nine points better than second-place finisher Staten Island.
#CUNYAC Fall Throwback Series