Men's Cross Country | 11/26/2019 11:26:25 AM
Utica College senior Mitchell Marlow was named Runner of the Year, while Nazareth College first-year standout Nathan McNally was honored as the Rookie of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2019 Men’s Cross Country All-Conference awards on Tuesday, November 26. The individual awards are voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
Marlow enjoyed a tremendous season in 2019, helping lead Utica to its third consecutive Empire 8 Championship. Marlow was the individual winner at the league championship, using a strong final 4,000-meters to win the meet by 35 seconds in a time of 26:03.5. On Oct. 5, Marlow set a new school record over 8,000-meters with an impressive time of 25:27.7 at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh. Marlow was a five-time Runner of the Week in 2019. The 2016 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, Marlow earned his third All-Empire 8 first team accolade this season.
McNally emerged as a standout runner for Nazareth as the 2019 season progressed. He finished fourth overall at the Empire 8 Championship and was the top finisher among all E8 first-year runners at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship. McNally recorded a season-best time of 26:27.7 over 8,000-meters at the Houghton Highlander Invitational, which is the fifth-fastest time over that distance all-time at Nazareth. He led the Golden Flyers to a runner-up finish at the Empire 8 Championship and the program’s top finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship since 2007.
The Utica coaching staff, led by head coach Sam Catterson was honored as the 2019 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Catterson led Utica to its third consecutive Empire 8 Championship. In addition, he mentored four all-league selections, including first team picks Kyle Engelhart, Marlow and Hunter Reed.
The Empire 8 first and second team selections were determined at the championship meet on Nov. 2 at St. John Fisher College. The top-10 finishers earned first team honors, while finishers 11-20 garnered second team accolades. Houghton senior Tyler Deuschle, the 2018 Empire 8 Runner of the Year, earned his third straight first team honor, as did St. John Fisher senior Bernard Daoust. A total of five first team honorees were repeat selections from 2018.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2019 Men's Cross Country Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2019 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country All-Conference Selections
Runner of the Year: Mitchell Marlow, Sr., Utica
Rookie of the Year: Nathan McNally, Fr., Nazareth
Coaching Staff of the Year: Utica, led by head coach Sam Catterson
Empire 8 First Team
Tyler Deuschle, Sr., Houghton
Dave Russo, So., Houghton
John Vernuick, Sr., Houghton
Chris Celecki, Jr., Nazareth
Nathan McNally, Fr., Nazareth
Bernard Daoust, Sr., St. John Fisher
Andrew Ford, So., St. John Fisher
Kyle Engelhart, Jr., Utica
Mitchell Marlow, Sr., Utica
Hunter Reed, So., Utica
Empire 8 Second Team
Mark Garceau, So., Hartwick
Dylan Beckhorn, So., Houghton
Joel Wheeler, Jr., Houghton
Nathan Bowers, Fr., Nazareth
Mike Brown, Jr., Nazarerth
Jake Suddaby, So., Nazareth
Josh Tomaka, So., Nazareth
Brandon Nicosia, Fr., St. John Fisher
Bogdan Rozvora, Fr., St. John Fisher
Tyler Stevens, Fr., Utica
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Rashid Abuelmaali, Sr., Alfred
Mark Garceau, So., Hartwick
Adam McCutcheon, Fr., Houghton
Nathan Bowers, Fr., Nazareth
Holden Maynard, Jr., Sage
Adam Yeager, So., St. John Fisher
Ryan Humphrey, Sr., Utica