Men's Cross Country | 12/1/2025 11:00:00 AM
League champion SUNY Geneseo swept all three individual honors, as the Empire 8 announced its 2025 Men’s Cross Country award winners on Monday, Dec. 1. The individual awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Geneseo sophomore Ryan Hagan was named the 2025 Empire 8 Runner of the Year, freshman Mario Verruto 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.
Hagan, a native of Liverpool, NY, enjoyed a tremendous season for the Knights, earning NCAA Division III All-American honors with a fourth-place finish at nationals in a time of 23:52.7, while winning the individual honor at the 2025 Niagara Region Championship by over 40 seconds in 24:11.7). Hagan was also the individual race winner at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational, was second at the Connecticut College Invitational and set a personal best over 8,000-meters with a time of 23:45.1 at the Paul Short Run against Division I student-athletes and broke 25 minutes in all five of his events this season. He was a four-time Empire 8 Runner of the Week in 2025.
Verruto, who hails from Gardiner, NY, ran a time of 27:15.1 over 8,000-meters to place 14th overall and earn All-Empire 8 second team honors at the 2025 E8 Championship. He also placed second overall in a season-best time of 26:07.7 at the Kara Hall Memorial Invitational hosted by SUNY Fredonia on Oct. 4 and recorded top-35 finishes at the Fisher-Rodenbeck Invitational, Yellowjacket Invitational and Canisius Alumni Classic.
The SUNY Geneseo coaching staff, led by head coach Dan Moore and assistant coach Chris Popovici was honored as the 2025 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year for the second straight season. Moore and Popovici led Geneseo to its second straight Empire 8 Championship, the Niagara Region Champions and national runner-up honors at the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championships on Nov. 22. Moore mentored a dozen all-league selections, seven All-Region honorees and All-Americans Ryan Hagan (fourth place nationally), Emerson Comer (15th nationally) and Pierce Young (29th nationally). Hagan also won the individual title at the Niagara Region Championship, while Comer and Young were right behind in second and third.
The Empire 8 first, second and third team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on Nov. 1 from St. John Fisher University’s Murphy Field Cross Country Course.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025 Men’s Cross Country Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
“Developing character and integrity is a hallmark of the Empire 8,” said E8 Executive Director
Chuck Mitrano. “This series is proof that Empire 8 and our member institutions are committed to intercollegiate athletics’ important role in higher education.”
2025 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country Award Winners
Runner of the Year: Ryan Hagan, So., SUNY Geneseo
Rookie of the Year: Mario Verruto, Fr., SUNY Geneseo
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Geneseo, led by head coach Dan Moore
2025 Empire 8 Men’s Cross Country All-Conference Selections
Empire 8 First Team
Thomas Blake, So., SUNY Geneseo (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)
Anson Butler, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Connor Hitt, So., SUNY Geneseo (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham)
Kole Owens, Jr, SUNY Geneseo (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley)
James Tette, So., SUNY Geneseo (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy)
Owen Willard, So., SUNY Geneseo (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Amos Bixler, Sr., Houghton (Dalton, OH/Central Christian)
Jace Stuart, Jr., St. John Fisher (Apalachin, NY/Owego Free Academy)
Bennett Melita, Jr., Utica (Johnstown, NY/Fonda Fultonville)
Empire 8 Second Team
JJ Montemaro, Sr., SUNY Brockport (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas)
Andrew Cox, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon)
Owen Murphy, So., SUNY Geneseo (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park)
Sean Verbosky, So., SUNY Geneseo (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove)
Mario Verruto, Fr., SUNY Geneseo (Gardiner, NY/Walkill)
Ben Allen, Sr., Houghton (Elmira, NY/Elmira)
Cameron Almy, Sr., Nazareth (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro)
Connor Jackson, Sr., Nazareth (Tully, NY/Tully)
Tobias Jeralds, Jr., Utica (Canaan, NY/Chatham)
Empire 8 Third Team
Finnegan Dean, Sr., Alfred (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam)
Caleb Belanger, Jr., SUNY Brockport (Elmira, NY/Elmira)
Aidan Mayer, Gr., SUNY Brockport (Croton-on-Hudson, NY/Croton Harmon)
Jack Hicks, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury)
Ian Zehnder, Fr., SUNY Geneseo (Albany, NY/Colonie)
Luke Ellis, Jr., Houghton (Keizer, OR/Western Mennonite)
Killian Bauer, Fr., Utica (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherill)
Timothy Jeralds, Jr., Utica (Canaan, NY/Chatham)
Anthony Leotta, Sr., Utica (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills East)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders
Finnegan Dean, Sr., Alfred (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam)
Tim Smith, Jr., SUNY Brockport (Vestal, NY/Vestal)
Emerson Comer, Jr., SUNY Geneseo (South Kortright, NY/South Kortright)
Larry McCumiskey, So., Hartwick (Delhi, NY/Delaware Academy)
Ben Allen, Sr., Houghton (Elmira, NY/Elmira)
Jesse Bolster, Sr., Keuka (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville)
Connor Jackson, Sr., Nazareth (Tully, NY/Tully)
Noah Breedy, Gr., SUNY Poly (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley)
Chris Pellegrini, Sr., Russell Sage (Loudonville, NY/Colonie)
Landon Wertz, So., St. John Fisher (Marion, NY/Marion)
Timothy Jeralds, Jr., Utica (Canaan, NY/Chatham)