Steve Hallberg was runner-up at the 2026 SUNYAC Championships (photo by Riley Olson).
Steve Hallberg finished second and Lucas Peterson-Volz was ninth to lead Fredonia State to third place at the SUNYAC Men's Cross Country championship meet held at Fortin Park.
The defending champion in the race, Hallberg traversed the 8,000-meter course in 26:05.5 while Peterson-Volz crossed the line in 26:31, a personal-best of nearly 19 seconds. His second Top 15 finish earned him a spot in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame, a distinction Hallberg earned with his 2025 championship and solidified on Saturday.
Edward Jourdan was Fredonia State's third finisher and 15th overall, which earned him All-SUNYAC recognition along with his teammates. His 26:47.3 finishing time was a six-second improvement on his previous personal record.
Finn Fadale and Kaden Worthley finished 32nd and 49th, respectively, to complete the Blue Devils' scoring quintet. Displacement runners were Sean Moser and Owen Erlandson, with the latter posting a personal-best improvement of 54 seconds.
Cortland won the team championship with 40 points, followed by Oneonta with 72, and the Blue Devils with 96 -- three points ahead of fourth-place Buffalo State. The higher placement earned Fredonia State two points in the Lake Erie Cup standings.
Hallberg's race was defined by a strong surge over the closing stages. The junior sat fourth through 620 meters, moved into third at 2.1K and second by the 4K mark, then responded after briefly dropping to fifth at 5.5K by reclaiming second before the 7.4K checkpoint and holding the position to the finish.
Running near the front throughout the race, Peterson-Volz was third at 620 meters and fourth at 2.1K before settling into the top 10 over the latter half of the course. He crossed the line ninth overall to give the Blue Devils two runners among the conference's top 10 finishers.
Jourdan was running fifth through the opening 620 meters, the junior slipped to 22nd at the 5.5K mark before mounting one of the strongest closing pushes in the field. He gained seven places over the final 2.5 kilometers to finish 15th and secure Fredonia's third top 15 performance.
