Marcus: You could say Dhillon had a chip on her shoulder

Hofstra's cross country team recently participated in the Paul Short Run at Lehigh, and it proved to be the most challenging - and ultimately satisfying - day of senior Riti Dhillon's collegiate career.

"It was a 6K race,'' she said. "After the first 1K, it was really muddy and my right foot sunk into the ground. My shoe got stuck in the mud and came off. I continued to run, but after I went about 40 yards, I realized that the [electronic] chip I need to record the time was in the shoe that got left behind.

"I lost all confidence. I thought, 'The race is over now.' I have to walk back 40 yards, pick up my shoe. I thought of quitting. Out of 375 girls, I was dead last. Without that shoe, the race was pointless. They wouldn't be able to get my time.''

Dhillon retreated and located her running shoe. "I picked up my shoe and all these people are just staring at me,'' she said. "A bunch of guys are looking at me and laughing and saying, 'She's done.' All of a sudden, I got really angry and started sprinting toward that last pack that had passed me. I'm sprinting with the shoe in my hand, the one I need. I knocked off my left shoe; now I'm completely barefooted, running with one shoe in my hand, the one with the chip in it.

"During the second K, my arm got tired from holding that shoe, so I decided to take the chip out and just hold it. My shoelace through the chip, tangled in there, it was difficult to get at it. I used my teeth and my hands to get that chip out while I'm running. That part slowed me down.

"They [other runners] were looking at me, tapping the people next to them, saying, 'Look, look, look at what she is doing.' I was passing people left and right. On my team, I finished fourth out of 10 girls in the race.''

Dhillon crossed the finish line, chip in hand, but her time of 25:00 (the senior's best of the season) wasn't initially recorded because the electronic mat that each runner crosses was calibrated to record the chip at shoe level. "They had to rewind the video camera,'' she said. Officials confirmed her finish.

Dhillon placed 263rd, which turned out to be quite an accomplishment given her original plight.

She had to leap over the rocky portions of the course so she would not cut her bare feet, but she endured significant pain from running that way. "I was afraid that I had injured myself,'' she said. "Fortunately, the next day it was better.''

After the event, she retraced her steps and recovered her shoes. "They were brand-new,'' she said. "I have to wash them.''

NYIT's Stewart signs with Globetrotters

Former NYIT men's basketball forward Kirk Stewart has signed with the Harlem Globetrotters, the college announced. The 6-7 Stewart compiled career averages of 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game with 87 assists, 45 blocks and 33 steals in 55 games played. As a senior in 2008, he earned All-ECC second-team honors.

Before joining NYIT, Stewart played two seasons at Corning Community College, where he was named Corning player of the year for the 2004-05 season.

Hofstra women's soccer ties record

With 10 straight victories, the women's soccer team (10-1) at Hofstra remained in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association. The 2005 team also won 10 in a row and the 2000 team had a school-record 11-game unbeaten streak (10-0-1). Hofstra can match that with a win or a tie against Towson on Friday.

Freshman Amber Stobbs scored her first career goal to break a 0-0 tie in the 70th minute as Hofstra defeated Drexel, 2-1, in a rainstorm Thursday afternoon. It was the third straight goal scored by the Hofstra bench after the reserves tallied both goals in a 2-0 win over VCU last week. Senior Kayla Pifer scored her first goal of the season in the Delaware win, giving the Pride 11 different goal-scorers through the first 11 games.

Adelphi golfers capture conference title

Adelphi won its second straight Northeast-10 golf championship. First-year coach and former East Coast Conference golfer of the year Jantzen Vargas was named coach of the year for Adelphi. Stuart Pulkinen was a first-team all-conference selection and Matt Demeo, Daniel Gordon and Jonathan Singer were second- team honorees . . . Farmingdale State won the Skidmore Invitational at Saratoga Springs State Park and the Farmingdale Invitational at Bethpage Red. Adam Larkin won the Skidmore, shooting 1 over par for the two-day tournament. The team will be seeking its fourth Skyline Conference title in five years when the tournament is held Oct. 17-18 at Bethpage Red.

Around the campuses

Old Westbury's Joanna Kettell of Hauppauge had four goals and three assists in an 11-0 soccer victory over NYU-Poly and followed that by scoring three goals and adding an assist two days later in a 10-0 triumph over Maritime. NYIT freshman goalie Michael Dorm registered shutouts in victories over West Chester (Pa.) and Molloy. C.W. Post's Joakim Ohlson scored the winning goals against St. Anselm and Bridgeport.

In volleyball, Stony Brook's Alicia Nelson had a career-high 21 kills against New Hampshire. NYIT's Shelby Cable has seven double-doubles this season. Her latest came against Bridgeport, where she had 15 kills and 13 digs. She also had three blocks and two aces. Dowling's Patrycja Klekotka leads the nation in service aces per set with 1.17.

In cross country, Stony Brook's Lucy Van Dalen won the Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 16:22. St. Joseph's Gillian Goodwin won the Lehman Lightning Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park with a school-record time of 20:28. The men's team also took first place and was led by brothers Eric and Evan Haun. Evan's time of 28:32 was a freshman school record.

Former North Babylon High School star Jason Gwaltney has rushed for 418 yards in four football games for Kean University (N.J).