Clarkson University graduate student Abigail Sullivan
Liberty League Women’s Cross Country Teams Set to Battle in Potsdam
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All nine Liberty League women’s cross country teams— Bard College, Clarkson University, Ithaca College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), St. Lawrence University, Union College, Vassar College and William Smith College—are headed to Potsdam, N.Y. for the 2018 Liberty League Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 27. Clarkson serves as this year’s host with the championships taking place at Munter Trail. The women’s 6-kilometer race kicks off the day’s events at 11 a.m. and the championships conclude with the men’s 8-kilometer race at noon.
At last year’s championship, Ithaca narrowly edged out St. Lawrence by two points (45 to 47) to claim its first Liberty League title in its first year with the league. RPI, the league champions in 2015 and 2016 rounded out the top three with 55 points. Over the last four years, three different teams have been crowned Liberty League champions and it should be another tightly contested race on Saturday.
In the most recent NCAA Division III national rankings from the United State Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), three league teams are ranked in the top-31. St. Lawrence headlines the league teams as the Saints are 20th while RPI is right behind them in 21st. Vassar is also ranked, checking in at 31. In the regional rankings, for the Atlantic region, all three teams are in consecutive order in third (St. Lawrence), fourth (RPI), fifth (Vassar). RIT, Clarkson and Ithaca are also in the top-ten at eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.
Ithaca will look to repeat as Liberty League champions on Saturday, however it could be a tough road ahead for the Bombers. Three of their top runners from a year ago graduated, including All-American Taryn Cordani, and all three placed among the top-four at the 2017 championship. They do return with some veteran experience with Sarah Rudge and Emilie Mertz who placed 23rd and 35th a year ago. Rudge paced the squad in two races this season, both of which she placed among the top-ten. She was fifth at the Hamilton Short Course Invitational (15:16.5) and eighth at the University of Rochester Invitational (23:36.8), where she recorded her fastest 8-kilometer time of the season. Sophomore Kelly Farrell was the team’s top finisher in two races this season, including at the Rowan Invitational, where she clocked in 23:01.5 to finish 68th of 345 competitors. She will look to improve upon her finish at last year’s championship, where she was 52nd. Annika Morrison (69th) and Maria Matkowski (74th) also return to the championship.
St. Lawrence is seeking its first Liberty League championship title since 2014. Prior to 2014, the Saints had won 12 straight Liberty League titles from 2002 through 2014. The Saints will also be missing their top runner from last season with the graduation of Megan Kellogg. She left big shoes to fill but the Saints are a veteran squad with the return of five of their top-seven runners from 2017. St. Lawrence has recorded three team wins (Plattsburgh’s Cardinal Classic, St. Lawrence’s own Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational and RPI’s Saratoga Invitational), one runner-up finish and a fifth-place showing at the Rowan Invitational (NCAA Atlantic Regional Preview) in 2018. Sarah Moon, Caroline Driscoll, Mary Terhune and first-year Ashley Walker have all been the Saints’ top finisher in at least one race this season. Moon, Driscoll and Terhune earned All-Liberty League honors at the 2017 championship after placing among the top-20. This season, Moon had an individual victory at the Cardinal Classic (18:42.8, 5K) and was seventh at the Hoffman Invitational (23:20.73, 6K). Driscoll had three top-ten finishes this season, including a second at the Saratoga Invitational (18:12.9, 5K). Terhune was a team-best third at the Hoffman Invitational (23:03.29, 6K). Walker was tops on the team at the Rowan Invitational, placing 38th with a time of 22:29.1. She was also among the top-ten in her three other races. Leah Livernois is another veteran returning for the Saints, she was sixth at last year’s championship.
RPI will also be in the mix as one of the league’s top teams at this year’s championship after placing third last year. The Engineers are also feeling a big loss with the graduation of Jaime Lord, however much like St. Lawrence, RPI has a veteran squad as five of the team’s seven scorers from the 2017 league championship are back. As a team, RPI won a dual meet, was third in two races and placed no lower than sixth in any race this season. Autumn Grim, who was among the top-30 at last year’s championship, has paced the RPI squad in three races this season, including a team-best 11th (23:16.5) at the prestigious Purple Valley Classic and 26th at the Rowan Invitational with a season-best time of 22:13.5. Classmate Maggie Bond was 15th in the 2017 league championship and she has also been one of the team’s top runners as she was right behind Grim in three races, including a seventh place showing at the Saratoga Invitational, finishing the 5-kilometer course in 18:07.3, five seconds behind Grim. Andrea Squeri (13 in 2017) and Maddie Sturm (14th in 2017) will also help RPI.
RIT always poses a challenge in the league championship and the Tigers were fourth a year ago. The Tigers had three runner-up and one third place finish in 2018. Eleven seniors highlight the squad and the team has been led by Becca Schwan who was seventh at last year’s championship. Schwan had a season-best time the last time she was out at the KollegeTown Pre-National Meet (23:09.1). Alexis Scott and Brooke Busa will be a boost for the Tigers as the duo both placed among the top-20 last year.
Vassar could also be a contender this year thanks to Christiana Prater-Lee, Hannah Martin and rookie Keara Ginell. The Brewers were winners of four races, including the Seven Sisters Championship and recorded a fourth-place finish at the Saratoga Invitational. Prater-Lee has paced the team in her senior season as she was Vassar’s top finisher in three races. She was 12th (18:24.2, 5K) at the Saratoga Invitational and she was fourth at the Vassar Invitational (19:24.0, 5K). Martin led the team in the Rowan Invitational (3rd, 23:19.27, 6K) and the Seven Sisters where she was second (23:12.8, 6K). Ginell finished in the top-ten in three races in her first season at Vassar.
Clarkson’s Abigail Sullivan will be a runner to keep watch for as the senior has won two races in the last three weeks. She captured the SUNY Canton Invitational and was tops in the Cross Country-Only Championships as she finished with times of 23:43.69 and 23:25.0 respectively. William Smith’s Riley Poisson has had a strong rookie campaign as the five-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection heads into her first league championship. Poisson was the Herons top finisher all season long as she started the year with a win and course record time of 16:25.3 at the SUNY Poly Short Course Invitational, was the runner-up in the Cross Country-Only Championships (23:33.7) and won the Hamilton Short Course Tune Up (15:39.9).