RPI seniors Sean O'Connor (far left) and Grant O'Connor
RPI Seeking Third Consecutive Liberty League Men’s Cross Country Title
Live Results | Live Video
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s cross country team heads into the 2018 Liberty League Men’s Cross Country Championship in search of its third straight title on Saturday, October 27. Clarkson University serves as this year’s host with the championships taking place in Potsdam, N.Y. All nine league teams—Bard College, Clarkson, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Ithaca College, RPI, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), St. Lawrence University, Union College and Vassar College participate in the men’s and women’s championships with the women’s 6-kilometer race slated for 11 a.m. and the men’s 8-kilometer race at noon.
At last year’s championship, the Engineers took home their third-ever league championship and second in the last two years. RPI had six of its top-seven finishers place among the top-15, including the individual champion (Grant O’Connor). The team compiled 38 points in the victory while St. Lawrence took second and was only 13 points behind the Engineers, totaling 51. RIT rounded out the top-three teams with 85. Individually, all five top finishers from a year ago return for the 2018 championship.
In the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national Division III rankings, three Liberty League teams have garnered recognition with RPI leading the way (9th). St. Lawrence checks in at 26 and RIT is currently receiving votes. The Engineers have been among the top-ten all season long. In the Atlantic regional rankings, RPI is second with the Saints not far behind in fourth while the Tigers are sixth and Ithaca is ninth.
RPI has not missed a beat since last year’s championship as the Engineers have placed among the top-four in every race in 2018, including team victories at the Purple Valley Classic and the Saratoga Invitational. They have been ranked as high as a program-best second in the nation this season. Sean O’Connor, who was third at last year’s championship, has been the team’s top finisher as the three-time Liberty League Performer of the Week has placed first in all of his races this season. His best time was two weeks ago at the Rowan Invitational, where he clocked 25:00.1 in the 8-kilometer race with a 5:01.8 mile pace. Grant O’Connor, the individual champion at the 2017 league championship has also been one of RPI’s top performers. He was among the top-ten in his four races, including a tie for first with Sean in a dual meet against Division II Saint Rose (26:06) and a second-place finish at the Saratoga Invitational (25:12.6), only nine seconds behind Sean. Other key contributors include Joe Domanico, Noah Falasco and Henry Jaques.
St. Lawrence, the winners of the league championship from 1995-2015, including co-champion honors with RPI in 2005, comes into the 2018 championship with a successful season under its belt. The Saints recorded two first-place finishes and were among the top-three in all but one meet this season. The team is led by Dadley Ogetti and Nicholas Vielhauer. Ogetti, who finished fifth in the 2017 Liberty League Championship, has won two races this season and was among the top-five in all four of his races. He set a course record, running six-kilometers in 19:20.7 at Plattsburgh and he followed that up with a win at St. Lawrence’s Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational with a time of 25:41.71 in the 8-kilometer race. Vielhauer was 31st a year ago but in 2018, he has emerged as one of the Saints’ top runners as he was among the top-20 in four races this season, including a second-place at the Hoffman Invitational (25:54.45) and 20th at the Rowan Invitational (25:32.5). First-year Aleksei Bingham is in the midst of a strong rookie campaign with three Liberty League Rookie of the Week honors this season. Earlier this season, he won the SUNY Canton Invitational with a time of 27:47.22.
RIT will be looking to claim its first Liberty League title at this year’s championship. As a team, RIT has won three meets this season (Houghton Short Course Invitational, Rowan Invitational and Houghton Invitational). RIT is headlined by Otto Kingstedt, the runner-up at the 2017 Liberty League Championship. Kingstedt has been the Tigers’ best runner as he won his first three races of the season. In the Houghton Invitational, he finished the 8-kilometer course in 26:15.6, nearly a minute ahead of the field. He had his best time of the year at Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s KollegeTown Pre-National Meet, where he was 11th with a time of 25:24.4. Evan Feigel has also been key to RIT’s season and will look to improve upon a 20th place showing at last year’s championship. His season was highlighted by a third-place at Houghton and a 11th at Rowan. Jay Humphreys will also help bolster the RIT lineup as he is coming off an individual victory at the Alfred State Invitational.
Other runners to keep an eye out for include Ithaca’s Forest Stewart, Union’s Arden Kellner as well as Vassar’s Peter Ferretter and Michael Casalino. Both Stewart and Kellner placed among the top-16 at the 2017 Liberty League Championship. This season, Stewart was eighth at the Rochester Invitational (26.57.6). He closed out 2017 with a ninth-place finish at the 2017 Liberty League Championship. Kellner has consistently been the best runner for the Dutchmen this season placing first among the team’s finishers in all four meets. He recorded an individual victory at the Bard invitational (27:38.51) and his best time of the year was at the Saratoga Invitational at 26:23.0 (23rd). Vassar will look to make some noise this year with the duo of Peter Ferretter and Michael Casalino. Ferretter earned honorable mention honors at the championship a year ago with a 21st place finish as a rookie. This season he has led the Brewers with three top-six finishes and he recorded his season-best time in Saratoga (26:19.7). First-year Casalino made an immediate impact with the Brewers as he helped the squad to four top-six finishes in five races.