2019 Liberty League Men's Cross Country Awards
CO-RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Joe Domanico, Senior, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Haddon Township, N.J.
RPI senior Joe Domanico was selected as the Liberty League Co-Runner of the Year. It is the fourth consecutive season that a RPI runner has been recognized with this award. Domanico wrapped up his career with All-America honors at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships with a 17th place finish, recording a personal-best time of 24:49.1 on the 8K course. He was the top finisher for the Engineers and the league. He helped RPI to a program-best team finish of 10th at nationals. Earlier in the season, at the conference championship, Domanico was again first on the team, crossing the finish line in third overall with a time of 25:46 to earn a spot on the All-Liberty League first team as the Engineers capture their fourth consecutive league title. He was also among the top-five at the NCAA Atlantic Regional, placing fifth (25:28.8), four spots behind teammate Noah Falasco, where the Engineers, as a team were second.
CO-RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Dadley Ogetii, Senior, St. Lawrence, Nairobi, Kenya
St. Lawrence University senior Dadley Ogetii was named the Liberty League Co-Runner of the Year. Ogetii earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, placing 25th overall with a time of 24:51.6, good for second among Liberty League finishers. The Saints posted their best finish at nationals since 2015 (15th). At the Atlantic Regional, they were third as a team with Ogetii pacing the squad by recording a 10th place finish (25:33.1). In the conference championship, he was second, finishing only 0.8 seconds behind the individual champion with a time of 25:39.5, leading the Saints to a second place team finish. Earlier this season, he won St. Lawrence’s Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational and was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Division III Athlete of the Week.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jackson Hamilton, St. Lawrence, Acton, Mass.
St. Lawrence University first-year Jackson Hamilton earned Liberty League Rookie of the Year honors. Hamilton was a top-seven runner for the Saints in all but one race this season and a top-five scoring runner in four meets. At the conference championship, he clocked in a time of 27:01.9, good for 30th overall and fifth among St. Lawrence’s finishers. Hamilton followed that up with a 63rd overall showing (26:29.5) at the NCAA Atlantic Regional, good for fifth on the team again, where the Saints finished third as a team. He capped his rookie campaign off with an appearance at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, where he was the top Liberty League rookie finisher (251st; 26:35.9).
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – John Lynch, head coach
The RPI coaching staff, head coach John Lynch along with assistant coaches Kaitlyn Balzano and Ben Fazio, was selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. It is the fourth straight year RPI has been recognized with the accolade. Lynch and his staff directed the Engineers to a fourth consecutive Liberty League team title, a second place showing at the NCAA Atlantic Regional and a program-best team finish of 10th at the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championship this year. At the league meet, all five of the Engineers’ scoring runners placed among the top-11 overall, compiling 33 points. Three were named to the All-Liberty League First Team (3rd, 5th, 6th). The team’s second place finish at the Atlantic Regional, thanks to the individual champion (Noah Falasco; 25:13.3) and two others (Joe Domanico, 5th; Henry Jaques, 7th) finishing among the top-seven, secured the Engineers a trip to the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships. At nationals, RPI, behind a pair of All-America honorees in Domanico (17th; 24:49.1) as well as Falasco (37th; 24:56.1) and two more (Jake Davis, Jake Kloman) among the top-120, helped the Engineers record the team’s first-ever top-ten finish at the championship (333 points). It was also the first time in program history RPI has produced multiple All-America honorees in the same season.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
1. Chris Singer, Jr., Ithaca – 25:38.7
2. Dadley Ogetii, Sr., St. Lawrence – 25:39.5
3. Joe Domanico, Sr., RPI – 25:46.0
4. Evan Page, Sr., St. Lawrence – 25:47.8
5. Noah Falasco, Sr., RPI – 25:53.4
6. Jacob Davis, Jr., RPI – 25:53.4
7. Patrick Mortensen, Sr. – St. Lawrence – 25:54.2
ALL-LIERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
8. Jake Kloman, Sr., RPI – 25:55.4
9. Kevin Cronin, So., Clarkson – 26:03.9
10. Nicholas Vielhauer, Sr., St. Lawrence – 26:05.1
11. Johnny Capobianco, Sr., RPI – 26:09.7
12. Forest Stewart, Sr., Ithaca – 26:17.6
13. Danny Jagoe, So., Ithaca – 26:19.2
14. Benjamin Beaudry, Jr., RIT – 26:23.4
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
15. Alec Hofer, Jr., Ithaca – 26:28.6
16. Henry Jaques, Jr., RPI – 26:28.8
17. Herlandt Lino, Jr., RIT – 26:38.8
18. John Blake, Sr., Ithaca – 26:40.1
19. Jeff Montgomery, Sr., Ithaca – 26:40.6
20. Aleksei Bingham, So., RIT – 26:40.7
21. Danny Napora, Sr., RPI – 26:43.0
* All-Liberty League based on place finish at 2019 Liberty League Championship