Bronx, N.Y. - The Adelphi University men's and women's cross country teams returned to action Friday against a slew of Division I programs at the Brother John "Paddy" Doyle Meet of Champions, hosted by Iona College at Van Cortlandt Park.

The women, who were recently ranked No. 4 in the East Region by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), placed 13th overall, as the top Division II team.

Grace Minikel was the first Panther to cross the finish line, at a time of 19:37.2. Despite running 10 seconds slower than her collegiate debut two weeks ago, she placed ahead of the entire St. John's University team and all but one of the Loyola University (Md.) competitors, finishing 54th overall out of 163 in the field. Nicole Julian (62nd) and Katherine Marsh (64th) placed within the Top 75 to round out the top three on the women's side.

Topping the field on the men's side was Tom Roulette, who crossed the 8k tape in a time of 28:17.7 to lead all Adelphi runners and finished 75th overall. He completed the race ahead of a few Division I competitors, racing from Binghamton University and Loyola (Md.), as well as a few from Division II Bloomfield College. Finishing behind him was Matthew Gemma, who improved his finish by one spot after taking third for Adelphi in the season opener. Gabriel Silva and Joseph DeStefano finished within four seconds of each other, individually placing 87th and 89th.

Taking the team title for the men's and women's races were Iona College and Columbia University, respectively.

A week from now, the programs will race again -- this time at the Ted Owens XC Invitational, hosted by Central Connecticut State University. The race, slated for Saturday, Sept. 28, will feature an 11 a.m. start for the men and a noon start for the women.