Bethpage, N.Y. - An incredibly brisk September day didn't stop Adelphi women's cross country from performing their best Friday afternoon, as the team earned a first-place finish at the Adelphi Panthers XC Invite. The Adelphi men's program also earned a plaque in the season opener, collecting 97 points for second place overall. 

In her first collegiate race, Grace Minikel placed second overall and first for the Brown and Gold, in a field of 102 competitors, clocking in at 19:27.20. Impressively, Adelphi placed five of seven point scorers inside the top-10, with two landing at tenth and fourteenth to round out the team. 

Seasoned veteran Nicole Julian crossed second for Adelphi, as three more freshmen followed closely behind in their first career meet. Katherine Marsh, Rachel Tucci and Isabel Marsh all crossed within 30 seconds of each other to earn fifth, eighth, and ninth, respectively. 

Leading the way for the men's team was Tom Roulette, who placed 18th overall with a time of 27:54. A few steps behind him was teammate Gabriel Silva, who made his freshman debut and broke the 28-minute barrier by three seconds to secure a 19th-place finish. The Panthers' third runner across the line was Matthew Gemma. The North Bellmore native placed 20th overall with an effort of 28:05 over the 8,000-meter course. 

Rounding out the top-five scorers for Adelphi was Ronan Smith and Steven Mosher, who placed 26th and 29th, respectively. Smith stopped the clock at 28:51, with Mosher shortly behind at 29:05. 

As a team, the Panthers placed second overall with 97 points, edging St. Joseph's (L.I.) by seven points and New Haven by eight. Connor Shannahan was the individual race winner with a time of 25:29 and led Southern Connecticut to the team title with 19 points. 

The Panthers will break in action until Friday, Sept. 20, when they compete at the Brother John "Paddy" Doyle Meet of Champions, hosted by Iona College. The event is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.