Devils to host meet at state park
Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136
CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cross country
(NCAA Division III Atlantic Region Cross Country rankings)
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- The Fredonia State men's cross country will look to build upon a strong team performance last weekend while the Blue Devil women will try to hit their stride during the lone home meet of the season Saturday at Lake Erie State Park in the town of Portland.
Fresh off a second-place finish Sept. 13 at the Brockport Invitational, the Blue Devil men moved up three spots to No. 8 in the NCAA Divsion III Atlantic Region rankings. In addition, junior Tom Williams (Queensbury) was chosen SUNYAC Male Runner of the Week for finishing second in the 5,000-meter race in a time of 16:06.
He was followed closely by senior Chris Walters (Tonawanda/Sweet Home), third overall, while sophomore Josh Guarino (Bergen/Byron-Bergen) was 10th. Head coach Jeff Beck was pleased with how those three did, and now hopes other Blue Devils will follow suit. In addition to the Blue Devils and teams from D'Youville and Alfred University, several unattached runners with early foot speed are expected to race Saturday over the 8,000-meter course.
"I am excited to see," Beck said, "how the rest of the team responds to their performances last weekend, especially coming off another hard week of workouts. This team can do great things with a little tighter of a pack (1 through 7)."
On the women's side, the Blue Devils have yet to run a meet at full strength. They were sixth last Saturday at Brockport, and third Aug. 30 at Buffalo State's Walker Invitational. Beck expects big races out of junior Sarah Furman (West Berne/Berne-Knox-Westerlo) and senior Trisha Ippolito (Angola/Lake Shore), as well as freshman Katie Krueger (Jamestown) and senior Laura Morroni (Elmira Heights/Edison).
"No one has seen what this women's team can really do," Beck said. "(They have been) working hard in practice every week and putting everything they have into races. I am excited for these girls to show the rest of the conference what they can really do at full strength when it counts in the championship meets."
The women's 6,000-meter race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., with the men's race scheduled to go off at noon.