After a second place at the Marist Season Opener, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams continued their season with the 19th Annual Br. Doyle Meet of Champions at Van Cortlandt Park.

In what was the first of four home races for the Gaels this season, the men finished this race with a first place finish.

Redshirt freshman Kieran Clements led the Gaels at the home meet with a 25:32.01 finish in the 8k.

The finishing time Clements had was the second fastest time compiled by any runner in the race. The only runner who finished faster than the freshman was Mike Biwott, who runs for the United States national team.

Three other Iona runners placed among the top ten finishers in the meet; junior Jake Byrne finished fifth with a time of 25:38.72, sophomore Mike O’Dowd placed eighth at 25:44.16, while senior Daniel Clorley completed the race in tenth place with a time of 25:51.48.

The Gaels finished the race with 37 points to win. This was 60 points ahead of second place finisher Yale.

In the women’s race, the Gaels finished second to Albany.

Despite failing to win the race, Iona had the top two finishers. Sophomore Kate Avery, who won in the Meet of Champions as an unattached runner in 2012, finished first in the 6k with a time of 21:31.03.

Freshman Maya Rehberg, who was running in her first race for the Gaels, finished second with a time of 22:26.72.

Other notable finishers for the Gaels included junior Tara Jameson, who finished ninth with a time of 22:59.39 and senior Katie Niblock, who placed 13th with a finishing time of 23:20.81.

After completing the race, Niblock was happy with her teams’ finish.

“Both as a team and individually our girls put together a great race. A second place finish was an exciting start to the season,” Niblock said.

Following a second place finish, Niblock expects that the team will build upon this race in their coming races.

“At our next race [the Brooks Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University], we will look to get out faster in the race and look to beat some of the teams we will face at regionals,” she said.

The next home race for the Gaels will be the Metropolitan Championship at Van Cortland Park on Oct. 11.