Brookdale Cross Country Qualifies For Nationals; Purdon Earns First Place Overall In Men's Region 19 Championship

Newark, DE - The Brookdale cross country team ran a spectacular race as they qualified for the NJCAA Division III Championships in Milledgeville, GA on November 13th. Freshman Theodore Purdon was exceptional as he was the first to cross the line in the men's race.

Brookdale Cross Country Qualifies For Nationals; Purdon Earns First Place Overall In Men's Region 19 Championship
November 1, 2021

Newark, DE - The Brookdale cross country team ran a spectacular race as they qualified for the NJCAA Division III Championships in Milledgeville, GA on November 13th. Freshman, Theodore Purdon, was exceptional as he was the first to cross the line overall in the men's race.

In the women's 5K race over a hilly course, freshman Kristen Daly (Middletown North High School) ran a fantastic race, placing 9th in a time of 27:28, and earning herself a trip to the NJCAA championships. Daly became the first woman runner to qualify in the last five years.  

The men's meet came down to a two-team race between the Jersey Blues and the Bergen Community College Bulldogs. Bergen was the slight favorite in this race being that they beat Brookdale two out of the three times they raced each other this season. Bergen was also ranked 5th in the nation, while Brookdale was ranked 8th. In an epic battle over the tough 8K course, Brookdale scored 33 points while Bergen tallied 43 points, and secured the victory. This was Brookdale's second regional championship in men's cross country in school history since 1982; that's 39 years ago!
 
The team was led by, Teddy Purdon (Red Bank Regional High School), who placed first in a time of 28:42. Teddy is believed to be Brookdale's first-ever individual champion as he earned All-Region for his efforts as well. Freshman, Michael Puzo (Middletown North High School), ran the race of his life by placing 8th overall in a time of 31:12.50. He was followed by freshman, Joshua Seba (Mater Dei High School), who was 9th place, at 31:12.90. Seba was the team's most consistent runner all year who set the pace for his teammates.
 
Freshman, Connor Scott (Keansburg High School), placed 10th overall in a time of 31:45, which was his best performance of the season. Sophomore Captain, William Broadhurst (Middletown North High School), came through Big Time by placing 14th overall in a time of 32:30. Sophomore Captain, Maksim Popov (Colts Neck High School), had a HUGE race as well, placing 16th in a time of 32:59. Next across the line was freshman, Joshua Beer (Shore Regional High School). The Bear, as he is better known by his teammates, ran a nice race placing 23rd overall in a time of 33:55. A trio of freshman, all from Mater Dei High School, rounded out the scoring for the Blues. Axel Linde placed 29th, Brendan Golding, 30th, and Darin Perpignan, 39th. All three had personal best records on the course.
 
Brookdale's next meet will be at the NJCAA Championship on Saturday, November 13th, in Milledgeville, Geogia, hosted by Georgia Military College.