Army West Point Athletics
Cross Country Sweeps NJIT Invitational
October 11, 2025 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
NEWARK, N.J. – The Army West Point cross country programs each picked up a first-place finish at the NJIT Invitational on Saturday afternoon, as the men's side score 15 points while the women had 19.
In the men's race, the Black Knights were in complete domination, sweeping the top six spots in the race. Ben Sydell took home the top spot with a time of 25:06. Kelvin Beltran (25:11), Alexander Quackenbush (25:27), Brady Smith (26:00), Jack Horrocks (26:11) and Harrison Lavery (26:15) rounded out the top six.
On the women's side, Army had five top 10 finishers. Erin Rapin finished first with a time of 17:43, Chloe Esponda was just behind her in second at 17:52, Clara Harden finished fourth with a time of 18:22, Erika Nyberg was sixth at 18:38 and Kara Sinnott was ninth with a time of 19:00.
Coaches Corner – Director of cross country Mike Smith
Men's Recap
"The NJIT meet is an opportunity for our developmental runners to try and make the varsity squad and for the coaching staff to get a good look at what our team's future is with the younger part of our roster. Today's team consisted of quite a few of our plebes and a few upperclassmen. They were all out there trying to put up a performance that could launch them onto the top 12 that go to the Star meet or the top 12 that go to the Patriot League meet. There was a lot on the line for these guys and that set the tone for how they ran, and they did quite well. Today's group has not had a chance to compete at the front of a collegiate race yet, so it was an interesting dynamic. We had a group of four guys set the early tempo at the front of the race and they kept the pressure on all the way to the line. It always happens at a meet like this that some people surprise and step up, and I think we had that today. I was really pleased with the way Ben Sydell 28' ran. Ben was on our varsity top 12 last year, but he has struggled with a few injuries early this year that slowed his progress. Lately he has started to emerge as a potential contributor, and he put everything together today. We got a lot of value out of the meet because practice is so much different than competition and it can be difficult to select a roster based on a small sample size of races or practice alone. You never know who is going to get the job done when the gun goes off so sometimes you just have to line up your people and let them select themselves for success. We saw that today in how the guys ran and in particular in how Ben competed."
Women's Recap
I was really impressed with Chloe Esponda '28 and Erin Rapin '29. They are both young developing runners trying to figure out how to succeed in the collegiate Division I landscape. Erin, in particular, is still adapting to the academy environment so it was great to see her grow up right in front of our eyes on the course today. She went right to the front with Chloe and pushed the pace early. Chloe pushed ahead mid race, and Erin came back to pull even in the final mile and was then able to pull away slightly over the last 800 meters of the race. I was really proud of those two and the way they took over the race and then the way they pushed themselves in the race from the front without any challenge from anyone else. They both showed some maturity in how they led and how they distributed their effort. Across the board we had some very nice performances from the developmental women today and it was a very productive meet for us."
Up Next
The Black Knights host the ever-anticipated Star Meet against Navy next Saturday at the West Point Golf Course. The event is part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. Additional information about the meet can be found on goarmywestpoint.com.
In the men's race, the Black Knights were in complete domination, sweeping the top six spots in the race. Ben Sydell took home the top spot with a time of 25:06. Kelvin Beltran (25:11), Alexander Quackenbush (25:27), Brady Smith (26:00), Jack Horrocks (26:11) and Harrison Lavery (26:15) rounded out the top six.
On the women's side, Army had five top 10 finishers. Erin Rapin finished first with a time of 17:43, Chloe Esponda was just behind her in second at 17:52, Clara Harden finished fourth with a time of 18:22, Erika Nyberg was sixth at 18:38 and Kara Sinnott was ninth with a time of 19:00.
Coaches Corner – Director of cross country Mike Smith
Men's Recap
"The NJIT meet is an opportunity for our developmental runners to try and make the varsity squad and for the coaching staff to get a good look at what our team's future is with the younger part of our roster. Today's team consisted of quite a few of our plebes and a few upperclassmen. They were all out there trying to put up a performance that could launch them onto the top 12 that go to the Star meet or the top 12 that go to the Patriot League meet. There was a lot on the line for these guys and that set the tone for how they ran, and they did quite well. Today's group has not had a chance to compete at the front of a collegiate race yet, so it was an interesting dynamic. We had a group of four guys set the early tempo at the front of the race and they kept the pressure on all the way to the line. It always happens at a meet like this that some people surprise and step up, and I think we had that today. I was really pleased with the way Ben Sydell 28' ran. Ben was on our varsity top 12 last year, but he has struggled with a few injuries early this year that slowed his progress. Lately he has started to emerge as a potential contributor, and he put everything together today. We got a lot of value out of the meet because practice is so much different than competition and it can be difficult to select a roster based on a small sample size of races or practice alone. You never know who is going to get the job done when the gun goes off so sometimes you just have to line up your people and let them select themselves for success. We saw that today in how the guys ran and in particular in how Ben competed."
Women's Recap
I was really impressed with Chloe Esponda '28 and Erin Rapin '29. They are both young developing runners trying to figure out how to succeed in the collegiate Division I landscape. Erin, in particular, is still adapting to the academy environment so it was great to see her grow up right in front of our eyes on the course today. She went right to the front with Chloe and pushed the pace early. Chloe pushed ahead mid race, and Erin came back to pull even in the final mile and was then able to pull away slightly over the last 800 meters of the race. I was really proud of those two and the way they took over the race and then the way they pushed themselves in the race from the front without any challenge from anyone else. They both showed some maturity in how they led and how they distributed their effort. Across the board we had some very nice performances from the developmental women today and it was a very productive meet for us."
Up Next
The Black Knights host the ever-anticipated Star Meet against Navy next Saturday at the West Point Golf Course. The event is part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. Additional information about the meet can be found on goarmywestpoint.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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