The Lehman College cross country teams competed at the 2009 CUNYAC championships yesterday at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Lehman's men's squad finished in eighth place overall out of nine participating schools with 185 points, while the women's unit scored 145 points and finished in sixth place out of nine participating teams.

On the men's side, Hunter College captured the championship by winning the men's 8K race with 34 points. The Hawks were followed by Baruch (69 points), John Jay (96), Brooklyn (107), York (130), CCNY (141), City Tech (180), Lehman (185), and Medgar Evers (253).

Winning the women's 6K race and the CUNYAC title was Baruch College who placed five runners in the top fifteen. Baruch scored 52 points, followed by York (56 points), Hunter (61), Brooklyn (88), John Jay (134), Lehman (145), Staten Island (172), City Tech (236) and Medgar Evers (242).

The top finisher for Lehman College men's squad was standout Oscar Kamalu who capped off his stellar season for the Lightning by finishing in 5th place overall in the men's 8K competition by clocking in at a time of 30:14. The top finisher for the Lightning women was Michaelle Garcon who finished in 10th place and completed the women's 6K course in 28:46. Following the meet, Lehman College Head Coach Lesleigh Hogg gave his thoughts.

“I'm proud of the way my student-athletes competed this season,” Hogg said. “Obviously, we faced stiff competition throughout the year as many of the schools in our conference have very good teams. We'll take the experience we gained this year and use it towards improving ourselves for 2010.”

Following the women's meet, Lehman College's Director of Athletics, Dr. Martin L. Zwiren, along with coach Hogg and Sports Information Director Stephen Spagnoli, presented two seniors – Dorothy Jean-Pierre and Janina Browne – with commemorative plaques to recognize their four years of dedicated service to the women's cross country program.