Sports Shorts

Manalapan's Eddie Gurrieri was the leading rusher for Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, Conn.) when the Pioneers beat LaSalle Univeristy, 54-14.

Gurrieri, a junior, carried the ball 20 times for 83 yards and one touchdown. The 4-yard scoring run was his first career touchdown for Sacred Heart. His 20 rushing attempts are a team high for the season.

Sacred Heart, which plays in the Northeast Conference, is 2-1.

Gurrieri is a graduate of Manalapan High School where he was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Braves, leading them to the state playoffs.

Colts Neck's Ashley Higginson's college career is off to a fast start. The Princeton University freshman was part of the Tiger's second-through-seventh-place pack that led Princeton to first place at the Fordham University Invitational held at Van Cortlandt Park, New York City. Princeton easily beat Penn, 20-85, in the meet that drew 23 teams.

Higginson was fifth overall (18:44) as the Tigers' top-five runners were all within two seconds of each other.

In her first home race, the Harvard-Yale- Princeton meet, Higginson clocked 18:17.0 over the Tigers' 5,100-meter course. She was fifth overall as Princeton won the trimeet with 18 points, followed by Harvard (57) and Yale (64).

At Colts Neck High School, Higginson was a two-time national champion at 2 miles (indoor and outdoor 2007) and anchored the Cougars' 4x1-mile relay team to a pair of national indoor titles (2006&2007). She led the Cougars to the 2006 NJSIAA Meet of Champions title and a trip to Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore. Higginson won the NTN race and the Cougars finished fourth in the country.