LAKEWOOD, NJ (Sept. 4, 2026) - Georgian Court Cross Country hosted their first-ever home meet Friday afternoon. Dubbed the GCU Pine Barrons Challenge, it was the season opener for the Lions as they embark on the 2026 season. Both teams had excellent starts to the season as the men finished in third among eight teams and the women were fourth among seven.
The women were led by a freshman,
Dori O'Halloran. She had a sixth place finish in the 4K running 16:42.9. The Lions put another in the top-10 as
Sophia Mauro placed 10th in 17:23.3.
Georgian Court has a lot of youth at the top as their top-four are either freshmen or sophomores. Freshman
Azucena Martinez-Panesso and sophomore
Nora Sprunger were back-to-back in 23rd and 24th place. Martinez-Panesso ran 19:02.9 while Sprunger finished in 19:03.1. The two ran as a mini-pack the entire race.
Julisa Sanchez Ponce was Georgian Court's final finisher. She ran 29:41.8 for 53rd place.
Stockton was the team winner with a dominating performance scoring 23 points. The next four teams were all CACC members with Felician second scoring 76 points, Holy Family third with 79 and Georgian Court fourth with 94.
The Lion men also put two in the top-10 in the men's 6K race. Senior
Ryan Pettrow led the team with a fourth place finish running 20:45.7. He was followed by freshman
Richard Riopel in eighth place. Riopel ran 21:11.8.
Two more Lions scored in the top-20.
Zachary Spoonire was just outside the top-10 in 12th place. He ran 21:32.1.
Luke McCormick was 19th in 22:32.8.
Stephen Lane and
Colin Broadbelt ran together for much of the race. Lane pulled ahead late to finish as the Lions fifth scorer, crossing the line in 24:17.3 for 33rd place. Broadbelt finished 36th in 24:45.9.
Stockton also were victorious on the men's side. They scored 30 points to win the meet. They were followed by Felician in second with 56 points and Georgian Court placed third scoring 66.
Georgian Court is in action once again next weekend. They'll stay in New Jersey and compete at the Stevens Back to the Bowl Invitational held at Holmdel Park in Holmdel, NJ.
