POMONA, NJ – Rutgers-Newark finished six in the field of 14 teams behind the record-setting running of senior Paul Bahamondes (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) at the CTC Championships on the campus of Richard Stockton College.
CTC Championship Results
Bahamondes, who was the top Scarlet Raider finisher for the fourth time in as many races this season, clocked a time of 20:32.96 to finish 21st in the field of 140 runners, lowering the 6-kilometer record that he set on the same course three weeks ago in the Osprey Open by 1.5 seconds.
He got plenty of back-up as Rutgers-Newark finished ahead of host and New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Richard Stockton as well as Division I opponents St. Peter’s and NJIT. It was a solid step forward for the program which is in just its second year.
Junior DaQuan Bashir (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) ran a personal-best time of 20:42 on the 6-kilometer course to finish 30th overall and ahead of sophomore Tauqeer Qazi (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) for the first time this season. Qazi was right on his heels, however, finishing 32nd with a clocking of 20:44.
Freshman Owen Parani (Union City, NJ/Union Hill) was 68th overall in a time of 21:59 while senior Robert Ezewuiro (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton West) rounded out the team scoring but running a 22:08 race and finishing 74th.
Rowan took the men’s championship, followed by Mansfield, DeSales, Stevens and U.S. Merchant Marine.
The Raiders now have two full weeks to train before the NJAC Championships are run on the same course.