GALLOWAY, N.J. – The TCNJ women's cross country team pulled out a thrilling NJAC title by the slimmest of margins on Saturday morning, edging host Stockton by one combined team place to claim the conference championship for the second year in a row.

The Lions' fist five finishers accumulated 50 team places to defend their crown and withstand a strong challenge from the Ospreys, who finished with 51 in another neck-and-neck battle between the programs. The 2021 championship meet went similarly down to the wire, with Stockton eking out victory by two places over TCNJ. Rowan had two top-six finishers but lacked the Lions' depth and placed third with 60 team places.

Naesha Gadie made her championship debut a memorable one, placing fifth overall in a time of 23:47.8 on the 6-meter course at Stockton. She was second among rookies, behind only Dale Leonard of Ramapo, who claimed the individual title in 22:59.2.

Cassidy Quinn logged her third consecutive top-10 finish at the conference championship meet, taking seventh in 23:50.2.

Katherine Rice (24:14.1) and Emily Hoegler (24:21.6) placed 11^th and 12^th, respectively, and crucially crossed the line in front of a runner from Stockton in 13^th.

Salini Iyer, the spring 2021 champion who finished seventh in the both the fall of 2021 and 2022, crossed in 15^th place (24:33.9), one spot in front of Stockton's fifth finisher.

Savannah Hodgens (25:05.8) rounded out the top-20, while Alex Grivas (25:36.7) and Liz Claros (25:49.4) took the last two spots in the top-30.

The Lions now turn their attention to the NCAA Metro Region Championship, set for November 11 at Rowan.