NEWARK, N.J. -- Up against a field of more than 230 runners, junior Joey Datta (Edison, N.J.) turned in his season-best performance, going 25:25.50 and finishing second at the NJIT Highlander Challenge at Branch Brook Park.

Datta stayed with the lead pack for most of the race, then turned it on to put distance between himself and the third place finisher, coming across the line 11 seconds ahead of the next runner on a rain-soaked, muddy course.

Freshman Alex Jamieson (Portree, Scotland) was next for the Cougars, taking 70th at 28:59.37, with freshman Logan Kudla (Bloomfield, N.J.) turning in his season-best time of 29:09.95, four spots behind Jamieson.

Senior Alexander Geddes (Randolph, N.J.; 30:02.86, 99th), soph Pharrell Mensah (Metuchen, N.J.; 34:17.46, 169th) soph Jairo Pantoja (Bloomfield, N.J.; 35:53.79) and Nicolas Iacovo (Little Falls, N.J.; 43:41.05) closed out the Cougars finishers.

As a team, the Cougars finished 12th of 29 teams, and fourth among nine Division II competitors in the race.

Full results here.

The Cougars next compete at the CACC Championships on Oct. 22 in Philadelphia.