Julia Smith, a Seton Hall sophomore from Schalick, placed 9th Saturday in the Metropolitan XC Championships at Branch Brook Park in Newark.
Smith ran an all-course lifetime-best 18:18.56 and was Seton Hall’s first finisher. Smith’s previous best 5,000-meter time on any course was an 18:33.0 on the same course (but a different meet) last October.
Smith was a three-time South Jersey Group 1 cross country champion at Schalick and also a five-time sectional champ on the track in the 1,600 and 3,200.
Highland graduate Nia Holden of St. John’s, a grad student and transfer from American, fnished just 10 seconds behind Smith in 11th place in 18:29.05, also a PR for her.
Holden was St. John’s 2nd finisher and helped the Red Storm win the team title, 68-77, over Manhattan. Seton Hall was 3rd with 99 points.
Her previous 5K PR was a 20:06.6 in September of 2021 for American in a race in Cockeysville, Md. Holden ran 2:14.43 at American and will have one year of track eligibility at St. John’s.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 