St. Lawrence set to host Liberty League Men’s Cross Country championship
With 20 straight Liberty League titles, the St. Lawrence University men’s cross country team will be looking to continue its streak of dominance in the league on Saturday, October 31, at its home course, the Hoffman Cross Country Course in Canton, N.Y. The 6,000-meter women’s championship race will commence at noon, followed by the 8,000-meter men’s race at 1:00 p.m.
Live updates will be posted throughout the afternoon via Twitter (@LLAthletics) and final results will be posted to
http://www.tfrrs.org, as well as the Liberty League website, shortly following the meet.
Since the formation of the Liberty League in 1995 (previously known as the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Aossciation), St. Lawrence has won at least a share of every men’s cross country title. The Saints shared the title with RPI in 2005 as the teams finished tied with 39 points apiece. No other team has earned a share in the title in any other year.
Last year, the Engineers made things interesting as it was a close race but the Saints came out triumphant. St. Lawrence compiled 29 points followed by RPI (40), RIT (69), Clarkson (110), Vassar (151), Union (180), Hobart (206) and Bard (256). It is expected to be another tightly contested race as all teams are firing on all cylinders for the conference championship.
Currently ranked seventh in Division III and second in the NCAA Atlantic region, St. Lawrence has captured a top-three finish in all six meets the Saints have competed in this season, including three first-place finishes (Plattsburgh Invitational, Saratoga Invitational and the Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational). They also return five of their top-seven runners from a year ago as Thomas Caulfield and Wesley Kirui lead the pack. The duo were among the top-five in 2014 and both have produced successful campaigns thus far in 2015. Caulfied has won two individual races and has four top-three finishes while Kirui placed among the top-five in three races. Rookie Sidi Abdoulaye has also made an immediate impact for the Saints as he has finished among the top-15 in every race this season.
RPI head coach John Lynch returns much of his lineup from last year’s team including junior Ben Fazio, All-America and one of two Engineer runners that were invited to the 2014 NCAA Division III Championship race. Fazio placed 26th and became RPI’s first All-America in Cross Country, this season he continues to impress with two first-place finishes, one of which was at the Geneseo Pre-Regional Invitational. The Engineers are currently ranked sixth in the region and 34th nationally. Steven Hammar and Bobby Parker also return for their senior campaigns and a new addition to the team, freshman Grant O’Connor has bolstered the lineup.
RIT has big shoes to fill with the loss of Matt Giannino, All-America and last year’s individual champion, however, the team is led by senior Andrew Bernardo and junior Brian Cusack, both of whom finished in the top-25 at last year’s championship.
Union has had one of their most successful campaigns this season under the tutelage of first-year head coach Pat Petty. The Dutchmen captured two team titles at the Bard Invitational and James Early Invitational. They are led by senior Jesse Coull and Justin Zorn, who most recently competed at the NYSCTC Championship, last weekend where both placed among the top-15 at 11th and 13th, respectively.
Vassar also returns to the championship with the majority of their lineup intact, as the Brewers had five freshman compete at last year’s championship. Mike Scarlett headlines the Class of 2018 as he along with classmates Noah Trueblood, Philip Brown and Jesse Schatz are back as sophomores to lead the team.