DYLAN FORMAN
Special to The Leader
This past Saturday, the men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their season by hosting the 2015 Fredonia Invitational at Lake Erie State Park. After a long summer and a strong preseason, the Blue Devils came out and dominated the 5K meet from start to finish.
In the men’s race, the blue and gold of Fredonia singlets seemed to be everywhere. The team was successful in applying a “strength in numbers” approach to the race. Of the first nine runners to cross the finish line, six were in Fredonia uniforms. Furthermore, the race’s overall winner was Fredonia alumnus Nicholas Guarino in 16:04.
Leading the way for the men’s team was senior Kyle Collins in second place, with a blazing 16:09 for the 3.1 mile course. Following closely behind, senior Collin Mulcahy finished third with a time of 16:23. Next in the scoring five for the men was junior Bobby Cooper, with fifth place in 16:32. In sixth place, sophomore Merlin Joseph ran a strong race, crossing the line in 16:35. The top freshman was Joseph Northrup, who ran an impressive time of 16:44 in his first race as a Blue Devil. He was also able to finish in the top five for the men and make a strong contribution to the dominating win.
Finishing out the top seven for the men were junior Cody Martini, who had a strong race in ninth place with a time of 16:55, and freshman Charles Loiacano in 17:30.
The team finished with just 23 points total, with the next closest team being Mercyhurst with 58 points. With a strong opening performance, the men will surely be looking to fight for the top spot in the SUNYAC Conference later this fall.
The women were equally impressive in their opening race. Finishing with 27 points as a team, they were able to finish in first place over Mercyhurst with 31 points. With five of the top nine runners being from Fredonia, it was clear that hard work from a long summer is going to pay off.
Lauren Kotas was the top female finisher, who also finished second overall. Her strong time of 19:49 surely set a high standard for the rest of the pack to follow. Finishing closely behind was senior Laura Morrison in 19:51. Next for the women was junior Bonnie Binggeli. With a time of 20:15, she was able to finish in fifth place and round out a strong front for the women.
The final two scoring runners, freshman Stephanie Wojnowski (20:25) and Hannah Kurbs (20:30), had exceptional races finishing back-to-back in eighth and ninth place. The displacers for the women were junior Julia Johnson in a time of 21:02 for 12th place, followed by Kara Hall in 15th place and a time of 21:09.
Strong performances from the freshman were the perfect complement to quality leadership of the experienced runners who finished ahead of them. This combination is a sign of good things to come throughout the season.
The men, who are currently ranked 8th in the Atlantic Region, will look to move up in the rankings as they travel to the University of Buffalo for the Stampede Invitational. The women will also be competing and looking to continue their strong start. Hosted by a Division I program, the strong talent is sure to bring out the best of both teams.