Men 4th, women 5th at SUNYAC meet
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Cross country
MOUNT MORRIS, N.Y. -- Led by junior Tom Williams (Queensbury), the Fredonia State men finished fourth out of 11 teams at the SUNYAC Cross Country Championship meet.
In addition, Fredonia State finished fifth in the women's race. The event, hosted by SUNY Geneseo, was held at Letchworth State Park.
Both races were comprised of nationally ranked teams. On the men's side, the Cortland Red Dragons, No. 1 in NCAA Division III, captured their third consecutive SUNYAC title by scoring 22 points to easily outdistance 10th-ranked Geneseo's (61 points). Plattsburgh placed third with 87 points, followed by the Blue Devils with 104, and Brockport with 151.
Cortland's Seth DuBois won the individual title with a time of 25:00 over the 8,000-meter course , one second ahead of and teammate Shamus Nally. Plattsburgh's Mike Heymann was third in 25:07, followed by Fredonia State's Williams in 25:16.
The fourth-place finish earned Williams a spot in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame while sophomore teammate Eddie Novara (Angola/Lake Shore), by finishing 15th overall, became Second Team All SUNYAC. His time for the 8,000 meters was 25:57.
Next in line for the Blue Devils were twins Nick and Josh Guarino, sophomores from Bergen, N.Y., in 26:47 and 26:50, respectively. Chris Walters (Tonawanda/Sweet Home), a senior, came in fifth for the team in 26:59, followed by sophomore Matt Kepler (Valley Cottage/Nyack) in 27:01 and sophomore Mac McMahill (Hemlock/Livonia) in 27:09.
On the women's side, the Geneseo Blue Knights, No. 7 in the country, won their 10th consecutive SUNYAC title by outscoring Cortland, 26 to 47. Plattsburgh was third with 77 points, Brockport fourth with 79, and Fredonia State fifth with 169. All but the Blue Devils are either nationally or regionally ranked.
Cortland's Andi Palen was the individual winner with a time of 21:58 for 6,000 meters. Fredonia State was led by senior Trisha Ippolito (Angola/Lake Shore), 30th overall, in 23:51. Next was junior Jessica Bennett (Rochester/West Irondequoit) in 23:57, freshman Katie Krueger (Jamestown) in 24:41, senior Laura Morroni (Elmira Heights/Edison) in 24:57, and freshman Shannon Gowen (Clarence) in 25:18. The sixth, seventh, and eighth Fredonia State women were sophomore Hailey Guard (Youngstown/Lewiston-Porter), sophomore Melinda Houle (Rochester/Greece Athena), and senior Danielle White (Pavilion).
"Each of the women," first-year head coach Jeff Beck said, "ran either a personal-best or a season-best (time)."
The next meet for Fredonia State is the NCAA Atlantic Regional at St. Lawrence on Nov. 15.