Sometimes looks can be deceiving.

The finishes of the NYU men and women track teams may seem underwhelming at first: ninth out of 12 and 12th out of 15, respectively. However, when considering the competition the Violets were up against, the finishes are more of a feat than a disappointment.

The Violets track teams were fully back together for the NYC Metro Championships on Friday after competing in two simultaneous events the week before. As the only Division III team in a field of presumably superior programs, the Violets were impressive, finishing with respectable numbers in a high-quality field.

The men’s distance relay team of senior Max Avila, sophomores Malcolm Montilus and Max Mudd and junior Curtis Mann was the Violet’s most successful group, finishing in fourth with a strong time of 10:19.53. Facing elite competition, the result was definitely satisfying for the Violet competitors.

A collection of strong performances from a number of Violets led the way. Senior Daniel Rieger finished sixth in the one-mile race, with a speedy time of 4:23.26. Sophomore Neil Sadler finished under a second behind him, placing eighth. The 800-meter event featured two Violets cracking the top-20, as sophomore Vince Booth and junior Conner Meenan both finished a hair above two minutes. Top-20 appearances were also seen in the 500-meter, where freshmen Soham Kamat and Daniel Sovich finished with times of 1:09.13 and 1:10.90.

Freshman Harley Centner finished the 200-meter dash in 26.26 seconds, while junior Nick Torsitano and junior Fred Lam placed 20th and 21st in the 400-meter. Senior Eddie Cruz-Desintonio finished with a respectable time of 2:38.35 in the 1000-meter, which was good enough for an eighth place finish.

Strong performances against elite competitors weren’t limited to the men, as notable performances were also abundant on the women’s side. Junior Justine Morris was the Violets’ star individual performer, finishing in the upper tier of the 3000-meter run. Her time of 10:35.31 was good enough for sixth, which was ahead of competitors from schools such as Columbia, LIU Brooklyn and Iona. Sophomore Lara Dorsky, who had a strong 15th-place finish in the 5000-meter run, was exuberant simply to compete to her personal best.

“I was really happy to break 20 mins in the 5k in my second indoor 5k, since I haven’t ran under 20 minutes since high school,” Dorsky said.

The women also impressed in team competition, as seniors Rebecca Turlip and Sarah Sisk, junior Wendy He and sophomore Ireland Gibson led the medley relay team to a solid fourth place, finishing in 12:29.11.

Not to be outdone, freshman Alyssa Jean’s time of just over eight seconds in the 60-meter earned her a 14th place in a 32-women field. Meanwhile, junior Simone Cooper was the Violet’s best performer in the triple jump with a 10th place finish. Sophomores Emily Dethlefs and Maggie Lalowski and junior Kassi Chrysanthopoulos took the 9th-11th spots in the one-mile run, each finishing within three-and-a-half seconds of each other.

Love will be in the air next weekend as the Violets hit the track at the Boston University Valentine’s Invitational. The action kicks off in Boston on Friday and runs through Saturday.

A version of this article appeared in the Feb. 8 print edition. Email Michael Thompson at [email protected].