Williams second at Geneseo meet
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Cross country
CASTILE, N.Y. -- Fredonia State junior Tom Williams (Queensbury) led his team to a sixth-place finish Saturday at the Geneseo Invitational cross country meet.
Williams and Plattsburgh's Mike Heymann dueled for 8,000 meters, with Heymann emerging two seconds ahead -- 25:24 to Williams's 25:26 -- at Letchworth State Park.
"I think this race," Blue Devil head coach Jeff Beck said, "proves that Tom is one of the top runners in the region."
With Williams showing the way, the Blue Devils outpointed 15 other teams at the event. Geneseo won the race with 36 points.
Beck also cited sophomore Eddie Novara (Angola/Lake Shore) for stepping up Saturday. He finished the course in 26:43 to finish 29th overall, second for his team. "He ran a huge race," Beck said. "He made up for (Tim) Halter not running." Normally a top-five runner for his team, Halter was held out of the race.
Rounding out Fredonia State's top five were sophomore Josh Guarino (Bergen/Byron-Bergen), senior Chris Walters (Tonawanda/Sweet Home), and sophomore Matt Keppler (Valley Cottage/Nyack). They were 30th, 35th, and 46th, respectively.
On the women's side, Fredonia State was seventh out of 17 teams despite competing without its top runner this fall, junior Sarah Furman. The top finisher was senior Trisha Ippolito (Angola/Lake Shore), who was 39th overall in 24:51 for 6,000 meters. She was followed by a pack of three teammates: junior Jessica Bennett (Rochester/West Irondequoit) in 42nd place, freshman Katie Krueger (Jamestown) in 47th, and senior Laura Morroni (Elmira Heights/Edison) in 53rd.
Sophomore Hailey Guard (Youngstown/Lewiston-Porter) rounded out the top five, while senior Danielle White (Pavilion) was next. Both women, as well as several other Blue Devils, ran personal-best on the Letchworth course.
"This was our first big race of the season," Beck said. "They (his runners) handled it well and showed what we need to work on for the rest of the season."