Men's Cross Country | 12/3/2024 9:55:56 AM
League champion SUNY Geneseo swept all three individual honors, as the Empire 8 announced its 2024 Men’s Cross Country award winners on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The individual awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Geneseo graduate student Charlie Wilson was named the 2024 Empire 8 Runner of the Year, freshman Ethan Becker was named Rookie of the Year and the Geneseo coaching staff, led by head coach Dan Moore was named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year.
Wilson, a native of Romeo, MI, enjoyed a tremendous season for the Knights, earning NCAA Division III All-American honors with a 31st place finish at nationals, while winning the individual honor at the 2024 Niagara Region Championship (24:51.8) and earning runner-up honors at the Empire 8 Championships. Wilson was also second at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University and was 13th at the SUNY Geneseo Mike Woods Invitational. He set a personal best over 8.000-meters with a time of 24:13.0 at the Empire 8 Championship and broke 25 minutes in all five of his events this season.
Becker, who hails from Mexico, NY, ran a season-best time of 25:36.4 over 8,000-meters to place 21st overall and earn All-Empire 8 third team honors at the 2024 E8 Championship. He also recorded top-50 finishes at the Rodenbeck Invitational hosted by St. John Fisher, University of Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational and Harry F. Anderson Invitational.
The SUNY Geneseo coaching staff, led by head coach Dan Moore and assistant coach Chris Popovici was honored as the 2024 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Moore and Popovici led Geneseo to the Empire 8 Championship in its first season as a league member on Nov. 2. In addition, the Knights were second as a team at the Niagara Region Champions and sixth at the 2024 NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championships. Moore mentored 18 all-league selections, seven All-Region honorees and All-Americans Alex Hillyard and Charlie Wilson. Wilson also won the individual title at the Niagara Region Championship and Ryan Hagan was the 2024 Empire 8 Individual Champion.
The Empire 8 first, second and third team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on Nov. 2 from Field of Dreams Park, hosted by Houghton University.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024 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.
2024 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country Award Winners
Runner of the Year: Charlie Wilson, Gr., SUNY Geneseo
Rookie of the Year: Ethan Becker, Fr., SUNY Geneseo
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Geneseo, led by head coach Dan Moore
2024 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country All-Conference Selections
Empire 8 First Team
Jonathan Zavala, Gr., SUNY Brockport (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central)
Emerson Comer, So., SUNY Geneseo (South Kortright, NY/South Kortright)
Ryan Hagan, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool)
William Hall, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Alex Hillyard, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora)
Austin Schoen, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas)
Charlie Wilson, Gr., SUNY Geneseo (Romeo, MI/Romeo)
Pierce Young, So., SUNY Geneseo (Arkport, NY/Arkport)
Bennett Melita, So., Utica (Johnstown, NY/Fonda Fultonville)
Empire 8 Second Team
Charlie Alekson, Gr., SUNY Brockport (Stowe, VT/Stowe)
Sean Killip, Gr., SUNY Brockport (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder)
Patrick Klinger, Sr., SUNY Brockport (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls)
Jared Smith, Sr., SUNY Brockport (Cazenovia, NY/Cazenovia)
Nick Bauman, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Irondequoit, NY/Irondequoit)
Anson Butler, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Kyle Gronau, Gr., SUNY Geneseo (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Mike Taranto, So., SUNY Geneseo (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Cade Eells, Sr., Nazareth (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca)
Empire 8 Third Team
Miguel Benito, Gr., SUNY Brockport (Manchester, NY/Red Jacket)
Ethan Becker, Fr., SUNY Geneseo (Central Square, NY/Mexico)
Logan Baker, Fr., SUNY Geneseo (Waterville, NY/Waterville)
Aidan Glynn, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Elon McClain, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Sparta, NJ/Pope John XXIII)
Micah McCulley, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Vermontville, NY/Saranac Lake)
James Tette, Fr., SUNY Geneseo (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy)
Justin Thang, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Amos Bixler, Jr., Houghton (Dalton, NY/Central Christian)
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Yuner Sesmas, Sr., Alfred (Apollo, PA/Kiski Area)
Jonathan Zavala, Gr., SUNY Brockport (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central)
Pierce Young, So., SUNY Geneseo (Arkport, NY/Arkport)
Larry Cumiskey, Fr., Hartwick (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy)
Ben Allen, Jr., Houghton (Elmira, NY/Elmira)
Jesse Bolster, Jr., Keuka (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville)
Joe Cataldo, Jr., Nazareth (Cortland, NY/Cortland)
Noah Breedy, Jr., SUNY Poly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley)
Jacob Haynes, Sr., Russell Sage (Cambridge, NY/Cambridge)
Dylan Esquivel, Sr., St. John Fisher (Bethpage, NY/Island Trees)
Bennett Melita, So., Utica (Johnstown, NY/Fonda Fultonville)
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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