Cross Country Championships to be Run at Saratoga State Park Oct. 27
Saratoga Springs will host some of the best distance runners this weekend as the Empire 8 Athletic Conference men’s and women’s cross country championships take place on Saturday October 27, beginning at 10:45 a.m. with the 5k women’s race followed by the 8k men’s race at 11:30 am. Eight schools will take on the course laid out over Saratoga Spa State Park with the goal of hoisting the Empire 8 Championship plaque in triumph.
Additional information is available on
the championships website.
The Ithaca women who rank ninth in the Atlantic region are looking to defend the team title. The Bombers tallied just 19 points in 2011 to remain the only school to win the title since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2003. Additionally, a Bomber student-athlete has won the individual championship each of the nine years.
Sophomore Alexa Rick returns as the reigning Rookie of the Year after a fourth place individual finish in 2011. The Bombers also return Anastasia Diamond (7), Carly Graham (9), Allison Bartkowiak (10), Ebonie Howard (11), Emily Smith (12) and Meghan Shanley (13).
Utica junior Katie Day placed third in 2011 as it came down to three seconds separating the top three runners. Day has been named the Empire 8 women’s cross country runner of the week twice this season. Freshman Ashton Villeneuve has been another top runner for Utica so far this season and will look to push the lead pack. She set a school record in the 6K last weekend.
Senior Kelsey Ryan returns to lead Nazareth and is hoping her experience will guide her to All-Conference honors for a third time. Freshman Shanna Swanson will be looking to make a name for herself on the conference level as she has been a top five finisher for the Golden Flyers all season.
St. John Fisher is a young squad in just the second year of competition and will hope that a year of experience will lend itself to improvement on race day. Sophomore Taylor Gallup was returns for the Cardinals after an 18
th place finish as a rookie.
Alfred’s Traci Forrester and Hartwick’s Sheila Niedziela are two additional runners to watch for in the women’s race.
New to the course this year will be the Houghton Highlanders. Jillian Lewis, who has twice been named E8 Runner of the Week, has set herself apart as the top Highlander runner and could find herself in the top-10 in the conference with a good performance.
On the men’s side the top ten will look quite different due to five runners not returning.
The Ithaca men, ranked eighth in the Atlantic Region, hope to repeat as Empire 8 champions and earn their third straight title and sixth overall. The Bomber men's team ran to a first-place finish in 2011 recording 37 points.
Senior Nathan Bickell placed second a year ago by a narrow six seconds. Bickell and is joined David Geary and Mark Vorensky who were top 10 runners from 2011. Other challengers from Ithaca’s squad will include Billy Savage and Chris Lotsbom. An Ithaca student-athlete has claimed the individual title on four occasions.
Sophomore Thomas Cunningham and junior Michael Cahill return for the Ducks, earning All-conference honors last year after finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
Utica has one runner returning from the top 15 in junior Morgan Payne who placed 13th a year ago. Payne has been named E8 runner of the week three times and is coming off a school record performance at the NYSCTC invitational last weekend. Seniors Tyler Hayes and Hunter Padgett will look to make a push into the top 20 this year.
Nazareth is a small squad but comprised of all but one upperclassman. Junior Matt Fedrizzi is the top returner from the conference meet a year ago where he finished 16th overall.
Other top runners will be Hartwick’s John Stuligross, St. John Fisher’s Kevin Jablonski and Alfred’s Erick Selzo.
Houghton freshman Timothy McGowan has been a consistent force for the Highlanders and if rookie nerves don’t get the way he should have a shot at an all-conference performance.
As an NCAA provisional member, Houghton is not eligible for the overall team championship however they will have a team score and place and individual athletes will be considered for all-conference honors.
Please continue to check the
championship website for complete information, including scoring updates, official results and more. And become a fan on twitter
@Empire8 for race day updates.