MATT VOLZ
Staff Writer
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
The Blue Devils men’s cross country team finished their season with a strong showing at the SUNYAC Championships.
Out of 103 finishers, four Blue Devils finished in the top 30 including junior Sembel Koshi who crossed the line in 15th. Overall, the team finished in fourth place with 104 points, as Geneseo took home the SUNYAC title with 23 points.
Koshi was primarily the team’s top finisher this season, but Kyle Campbell and Josh Walters each had one race where they took home first on the team. Campbell headlines the program’s graduating seniors, along with Samuel Cottrell, Vincent Mendez and Ethan Pocock.
While some readers may want to know the team’s win-loss record, a record like that is tough to accurately define in cross country due to the fact that there are typically more than two teams that participate in a meet. However, the Blue Devils as a team finished in the top 20 of each competition with three top fives and one overall win.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
In the SUNYAC Championships, the Blue Devils women’s cross country team took home a seventh place finish out of eight scoring teams. Alexandra Battaglia took home 21st out of 87 runners with a 6K time of 25:03.
All five scorers for Fredonia State finished in the top 50, with each of the top three within the first 40 finishers. As for the overall season, Battaglia was consistently the team’s top finisher, and she took home an overall win at the Rowan 6K invitational in October.
The Blue Devils scored as a team four times on the season, finishing in the top 10 each race and the top five twice, against different numbers of competitors in each race. The team will say goodbye to one senior, scoring finisher Kristin Kelemen.
The rest of the Blue Devils appear to be remaining together for 2023, and with an addition of one or two more runners, the team may be able to score in each meet next season.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
The women’s tennis team concluded their 2022 campaign with a loss to Plattsburgh State in Binghamton, bringing their final regular season record to 0-12. Seniors Bella Surma and Caitlin Snyder provided bright spots to the team by each taking home a handful of singles victories throughout the season.
The Blue Devils also received significant contributions from younger members of their core such as freshmen Lexi Hawley, Brianna Gentile and Sierra Allen.
With Surma and Snyder being the team’s only graduating seniors, most of the young core should still be intact for the next season or two. The team is still in search of their first win in nearly three years, however, as the program’s most recent win came on Apr. 25, 2020.
VOLLEYBALL
The Blue Devils volleyball team finished up their season with a three-set loss to Houghton on Saturday, Oct. 29.
However, Fredonia State kept it close as Houghton won each set by two or three points. With the loss, the Blue Devils finish the season with a 4-20 record and on a six-game losing streak.
The Blue Devils will graduate two seniors, Kourtney Krchniak and Madeline Reed, both of whom made significant contributions to the team this past season and over the course of their careers. Much of this Fredonia State team consists of players in their freshman or sophomore year, so head coach Geoff Braun should be able to keep a decent amount of his core intact for 2023.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Fredonia State concluded its regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 25 with a 1-1 draw against Alfred University. With the draw, the Blue Devils end the 2022 campaign with a record of 2-9-5. It was tough sledding down the stretch for the team, as their final win came on Sept. 13 against Allegheny College.
Junior Bri Grazen led the team in scoring across the board with three goals and eleven total points. Senior goalkeeper Sabrina Suriani led the SUNYAC with 106 saves and held the fourth highest save percentage in the conference, stopping 82.8% of the shots she faced.
The Blue Devils are set to lose ten seniors to graduation, including Suriani, forwards Kayleigh Daniels and Lexi Lindamer, and midfielders Jordan Barrett and Talia DeFay. However, a young core including Bri and Brooke Grazen, Kendall Sexton, Jules Monlea and Katie Sellers remains intact entering 2023.
MEN’S SOCCER
The 2022 men’s soccer campaign ended on a high note, as Fredonia State defeated Alfred University 3-2 on Tuesday, Oct. 25. With two wins in their final three games, the Blue Devils conclude the season with a 4-9-3 record, just one point off from making the SUNYAC playoffs.
Sophomore forward Kaleb Steward led the team in scoring with six goals and 16 total points. Following a season-ending injury to senior goalkeeper Will Richardson, Fredonia State turned to Tanner Stutzman in goal who, on average, allowed fewer than three goals per game.
The team will say goodbye to two seniors this year: Richardson and defender Rob Aboagye, who scored his first and only collegiate goal in a road win over Plattsburgh State on Oct. 15.
However, younger contributors such as Steward, Chance LaCroix, Milkias Aregawi and Hudson Kwiatkowski will ensure that most of the group stays together moving forward to 2023.