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The St. Lawrence University Women’s Cross Country team will be looking for its 16th Liberty League title heading into the 2019 Liberty League Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 2. Bard College is this year’s championship host and the event will take place on the campus of Bard in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.
All nine league teams that sponsor women’s cross country will be participating on Saturday—Bard, Clarkson University, Ithaca College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), St. Lawrence University, Union College, Vassar College and William Smith College. The championships start at 11:00 a.m. with the men’s eight-kilometer race followed by the women’s six-kilometer race at noon.
At last year’s championship, St. Lawrence claimed its first title since 2014 with 29 points as all five of the team’s scorers placed among the top-11, which included the individual champion (Ashley Walker) and runner-up (Mary Terhune). RPI was second, only 11 points behind St. Lawrence, with 41 and Vassar took third place, compiling 87 points. RIT placed fourth (102) and the Tigers were followed by Ithaca (117), Clarkson (152), William Smith (213), Union (251) and Bard (285).
In the latest United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Rankings, three league teams are featured among the top-30. RPI headlines the three teams at No. 15. Vassar College is currently ranked at No. 21 and RIT rounds out the three teams at No. 27.
The Saints will be seeking their first back-to-back conference titles since they won a consecutive string of 13 Liberty League championships from 2002-2014. It won’t be any easy task for the Saints with three nationally ranked teams eyeing to make a run at the 2019 title. As a team, the Saints won one meet (Plattsburgh’s Cardinal Classic) and were among the top-four in two others, the Middlebury Invitational (2nd) and the Saints’ own Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational (4th). Ashley Walker, after leading the team to the Liberty League championship last year with an individual win, has not skipped a beat as the sophomore was the Saints’ top finisher in four of the team’s five races this season. She was second overall at the Cardinal Classic (19:37.5, 5K) as well as fourth overall at both Middlebury (23:51.3) and St. Lawrence (22:52.2.). Most recently, she is coming off a time of 22:31.7 (38th) at the Connecticut College Invitational. First-year Sophie Brezezinski is also expected to make a major impact for the Saints as the rookie has been one of the team’s top runners in 2019. The two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week’s season has been highlighted by the Cardinal Classic (5K, 20:14.3, 3rd) and Middlebury (23:59.4, 5th). Catherine Kluchinski will also be a significant contributor, she paced the team at the Williams Invitational (19th, 23:58.2) and was second for the Saints at the Hoffmann Invitational (9th, 23:13.3) as well as Connecticut College (40th, 22:32.9).
RPI will be looking to win the Liberty League championship for the first time since 2017 after claiming back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016. With a strong season thus far in 2019, the Engineers are poised to make a statement at the 2019 championship. In five races this season, RPI finished among the top-five in all but one meet. The team was third at the Pavlich Invitational, held at Bard in September, fourth at the Williams Invitational and the Engineers were fifth twice (Connecticut College and the Greater Louisville Classic – NCAA Pre-Nationals meet). Experience could be on the Engineers side as four seniors (Maggie Bond, Autumn Grim, Andrea Squeri Jessica Squeri) headline this year’s RPI squad. All three earned All-Liberty League honors at the 2018 championship, where Andrea Squeri placed third, Grim was right behind her in fourth, Bond was sixth and Jessica Squeri was 20th. This season, Grim led the Engineers at the Connecticut College Invitational, where she placed 17th with a time of 22:00.6 in the six-kilometer race. She was also 16th at Williams (23:54.1), while Bond paced RPI, finishing in 11th (23:41.5). Bond was also 37th at Connecticut College, finishing second on the team with a time of (22:30.9). Jessica Squeri was tops on the team at the Hoffmann Invitational (24:47.1). Andrea Squeri ran in the Blue Division at the Greater Louisville Classic (18:43.7, 4K) and she was 43rd at Connecticut College (22:35.4).
Vassar will also be looking to make some moves at this year’s championship as the Brewers are seeking their first-ever Liberty League women’s cross country title. The Brewers won three races this season—the Vassar Season Starter (3K), Vassar Invitational (5K) and the Pavlich Invitational (6K). Vassar has been led by Keara Ginell, who claimed three individual victories in her first three races this season. She took first in the Vassar Season Starter (10:59.9), the Vassar Invitational (18:52.2) and the Pavlich Invitational (23:04.7). She also placed 40th in the prestigious Paul Short Race at Lehigh University with a time of 22:01.8. Most recently, Ginell was 13th at Connecticut College with a personal-best and school record 6-kilometer time of 21:52.3. Augusta Stockman, Elsa Erling, Hannah Martin and first-year Lily Digman will also be key for the Brewers.
RIT is in the midst of a successful season while also seeking its first-ever Liberty League title in women’s cross country. The Tigers have recorded top-five finishes in five of their six races this season, including three second-place finishes (St. John Fisher Invitational, Geneseo Invitational and Hoffman Invitational). Senior Hannah Weppner and first-year Katie Cobos have consistently been RIT’s top runners this season. Weppner placed a team-best sixth in two races, the Geneseo Invitational, where she recorded a personal record time of 22:36.5 in a six-kilometer race and the Hoffman Invitational (22:57.6). Cobos, a two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection, was the team’s top finisher at the University of Rochester Invitational, where she was 12th (23:06.6). She finished second among team leaders, three times this season, most recently at the Hoffmann Invitational (11th, 23:15.3).
Ithaca is on the hunt for its second Liberty League title after capturing its first in 2017 in the Bombers’ first year with the Liberty League. All eyes turn to sophomore Parley Hannan to guide the team back to the title as she has dominated her races this season, the five-time Liberty League Performer of the Week recorded individual victories in three races this season and was among the top-three in all five of her meets this season. She was also recognized by the USTFCCCA for two consecutive weeks as their National Athlete of the Week. Hannan won the Hamilton Short Course Invitational (14:41.9), the Hoffmann Invitational (22:08.9) and the Connecticut College Invitational (20:52.2). Sarah Rudge and Maggie Nickerson will join Hannan at the starting line.