Men's Cross Country | 10/30/2019 9:51:28 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The 2019 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country Championship will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the South Campus Course on the campus of St. John Fisher College. Seven Empire 8 institutions will vie for the team title, as Utica is set to defend its 2018 championship. Houghton senior Tyler Deuschle will also look to win his second straight individual crown.
Utica, the defending Empire 8 Champion, has competed in six events as a team in 2019. The Pioneers placed 17th overall at the Ronald Hoffman Invitational at St. Lawrence, which served as the NCAA Atlantic Region Pre-Regional on Oct. 12. Senior Mitchell Marlow will be counted on to lead the way for the Pioneers. A four-time E8 Runner of the Week in 2019, Marlow shattered the Utica program record for fastest 8,000-meter time, crossing the finish line in 25:27.7 at the Paul Short Invitational on Oct. 5. In addition, graduate student Liam Rodgers, an All-Empire 8 first team selection in 2018 and Kyle Engelhart, a second team pick and reigning E8 Runner of the Week, will also be counted on to lead the Pioneers.
St. John Fisher is coming off a second-place finish in last year’s championship and has sophomore Andrew Ford, the 2018 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, looking to win an individual crown. Ford, who placed seventh at the 2018 Championship, is a three-time Empire 8 Runner of the Week in 2019 and most recently, took first place at the ESF Mighty Oak Invitational on Oct. 19. Fisher finished second at the Houghton Highlander Invite on Oct. 5 and 11th at the Ronald Hoffman Pre-Regional Championship at St. Lawrence on Oct. 12. Senior Bernard Daoust will look to duplicate his top-10 finish at the league championship last season which earned him All-E8 first team accolades.
Deuschle returns to defend his 2018 individual crown for
Houghton, who placed fourth as a team in 2018. Deuschle is in the midst of another strong season for the Highlanders in 2019, having recorded back-to-back Empire 8 Runner of the Week accolades on Sept. 16 and Sept. 23. Houghton, who has competed in five events this season, placed second overall at the Penn State Behrend Invitational on Sept. 13, which Deuschle won. Dave Russo, John Vernick, Dillon Bell and Joel Wheeler will also look to contribute for the Highlanders.
Nazareth returns All-Empire 8 first team selection Chris Celecki, who placed fourth at the 2018 league championship. The Golden Flyers, who finished fifth as a team last season, have competed in six events in 2019, with a fourth-place finish at the Highlander Invitational on Oct. 5. Six different Golden Flyers runners recorded personal-best times in that event. First-year standouts Nathan McNally and Nathan Bowers, along with sophomore Joshua Tomaka have shown flashes of brilliance.
Hartwick is coming off a sixth-place finish in last season’s championship. The Hawks have competed in six events this season, including a pair of runner-up finishes and a third-place result. Mark Garceau, Harry Helinski, Ethan Lee, Will May, Omar Nelson and Sean Waltman will look to earn all-league accolades.
Alfred has competed in six events this season, highlighted by a third-place finish at their own Alfred University Invitational. Kyle Jenkins, Gavin Wilbert, Sean Raymond, Tim Mayo and George Mecca will look to earn valuable points for the Saxons, who looking to improve off of a seventh-place finish in last year’s championship.
Holden Maynard and Arnoldo Burnett are set represent the Gators of
Sage.
The 2019 E8 championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8). Live results will be available at
www.leonetiming.com.
2019 Empire 8 Cross Country Championship Schedule
Saturday, November 2
Men’s Race – 11 a.m.
Women’s Race – 12 p.m.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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