DYLAN FORMAN
Staff Writer
The men and women’s cross country teams traveled to SUNY Brockport to compete in the SUNYAC Championships versus 10 complete teams. Both teams battled inclement weather with rain and mud throughout the 6K and 8K courses.
In the men’s race, the overall winner – by a slim margin of four points – was SUNY Geneseo with 54 points. Finishing a close second was Cortland with 58 points. The individual winner – for the second consecutive year – with a time of 25:37, was SUNY Cortland’s Nick Marcantonio.
Leading the way for the Blue Devils was senior Zakk Hess who finished eighth with a time of 25:56. Coupled with his 10th place finish last Fall, Hess earned a spot in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame. Following Hess was senior Chris Shartrand, who crossed the finish line in 18th place with a time of 26:17. The third Blue Devil to finish, with a time of 26:41, was junior Kyle Collins in 27th place.
Rounding out the men’s scoring five was senior Jed Kovalovsky in 26:43, followed closely by sophomore Cody Martini in 26:44. The two finished back-to-back in 29th and 30th place.
The displacers on Saturday were sophomore Bobby Cooper (27:16) and freshman Jack Erhard (27:37).
The men’s team finished in an impressive fourth place out of 10 teams even while competing without their second fastest runner, Collin Mulcahy, due to injury.
In the women’s race, Geneseo won convincingly with a near-perfect score of 19. The overall winner, in a time of 21:58 for 6K, was Geneseo senior Cassie Goodman. Fredonia finished seventh as a team with a score of 179.
Leading the pack of Fredonia women was junior Lauren Kotas. Kotas ran the course in 23:36 and finished in 21st place. Following closely in 28th place was sophomore Bonnie Binggeli with a time of 24:07. The third Blue Devil to cross the finish line was sophomore Alyssa Stroud in 24:35. Rounding out the scoring five was sophomore Kara Hall in 25:02, and freshman Madison Courtney with a time of 25:20.
The women’s displacers for the race consisted of senior Emily Palmeri in 25:37, followed closely by sophomore Julia Johnson at 26:00.
Both teams will compete in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships on Nov. 15 in Rochester for a chance to then compete at the NCAA National Championships.