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The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women’s cross country team will be seeking its second straight Liberty League title and third since 2015 heading into the 2021 Liberty League Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 30. RPI and Union College are co-hosting this year’s championship at Saratoga Springs State Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
All nine league teams that sponsor women’s cross country will be participating in the championship on Saturday—Bard College, Clarkson University, Ithaca College, RPI, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), St. Lawrence University, Union, Vassar College and William Smith College. The championship starts at 10:00 a.m. with the men’s 8-kilometer race followed by the women’s 6-kilometer race at 11:00 a.m.
The Liberty League Women’s Cross Country Championship was last contested in 2019, when the Engineers placed four of their five scorers among the top-nine to earn their first title since 2016 with 43 points. Ithaca was the runner-up with 65 points while Vassar (72 points) narrowly edged out RIT (73) for third. The Tigers, who were fourth were followed by St. Lawrence (94), Clarkson (158), William Smith (226), Bard (268) and Union (272).
RPI began the 2021 campaign with back-to-back first-place showings at Vassar’s Ron Stonitsch Invitational and the Engineers’ own Saratoga Invitational. They also competed at Lehigh University’s Paul Short Run (the “Brown Race”) and the Connecticut College Invitational where they were 20th and 10th respectively. Junior Nia Goddard has paced the team in all four races and she had two individual victories (Ron Stonitsch and Saratoga). At Saratoga, she finished with a time of 23:11.0 with a margin of victory of five seconds. She followed that up with a season-best time of 21:27.1 at Paul Short, good for seventh. Most recently, she was 15th at Connecticut College, crossing the finish line in 22:27.50. Junior Morgan Lee is expected to be a key component in the Engineers’ quest for a back-to-back title in her first season with the cross country team. She finished second on the team in the three races she competed in. She was second overall at Ron Stonitsch (19:11.8) and third overall at Saratoga (23:19.0). At Connecticut College, she finished one second behind Goddard with a time of 22:28.50 (16th). Senior Grace Brolly and junior Jillian Lees bring a veteran presence to the starting line for the Engineers.
Ithaca will be looking for a return to the top of the podium and its second Liberty League title since 2017 at this year’s championship. The Bombers opened the season by winning the Hamilton Short Course Invitational and were the runner-up team at RPI’s Saratoga Invitational. They were also fifth at the University of Rochester Invitational, sixth at Geneseo’s Mike Woods Invitational and ninth at Rowan’s Border Battle. This season the squad has been led by graduate student Lindsay Scott and first-year Jillian Shea. Scott was second at Hamilton with a time of 14:55.0 in the 4-kilometer race and followed that up with a 15th place showing at Rochester (23:16.5). She was also 18th at Geneseo with a time of 23:02.6. Shea was first on the team in Saratoga, crossing the finish line in fifth with a time of 24:24.1, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Scott who was sixth (24:38.1). Senior Lauren Lobdell has also been a consistent runner for the Bombers finishing among the team’s top-three in four races.
Vassar will look to improve upon the team’s third place finish at the 2019 championship. This season the Brewers won their Season Starter meet, placed third at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational and RPI’s Saratoga Invitational and were fourth at Westfield State’s James Early Invitational. They also finished the regular season in 14th at the Connecticut College Invitational. A trio of runners have led the team this season—senior Sasha Allison, first-year Noni Pattington and junior Augusta Stockman. Allison was the team’s top runner in all five races, including an individual win at the Season Starter with a time of 11:42.6 (3K). She also finished in third twice at the Ron Stonitsch and the James Earley Invitational with times of 19:25.8 (5K) and 18:19.6 (5K). At Saratoga, she finished fourth with a time of 23:49.2 in her first 6-kilometer race of the season. She closed out the regular season in 23rd at Connecticut College with a time of 22:57.10. Pattington had a strong first season with the Brewers, finishing second on the team in two races and third in three. She was seventh overall at the Saratoga Invitational with a time of 27:47.6 and crossed the finish line in 24:24.10 at Connecticut College. Stockman finished second on the team on three occasions—the Season Starter (3rd overall), James Earley Invitational (5th overall) and Connecticut College Invitational (55th overall). Her best 6-kilometer time of the season was at Connecticut College with a time of 23:39.40.
RIT is poised to make a statement at the 2021 championship as the only Liberty League Women’s Cross Country team ranked in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III rankings. RIT is ranked among the top-35 at No. 31 and this season the Tigers have not finished lower than fourth as a team. They were second at St. John Fisher’s Terry Rodenbeck Invitational, third in three races (University of Rochester Invitational, Houhgton’s Highlander Invitational and Canisius Alumni Classic) and fourth at Geneseo’s Mike Woods Invitational. A pair of runners headline the team in junior Katie Cobos and senior Taylor Domico. Cobos, the 2019 Liberty League Rookie of the Year, has led RIT in all but one race this season. She had two runner-up finishes at St. John Fisher (4K; 15:13.9) and Canisius (5K; 18:43.9). At Geneseo, Cobos was seventh overall crossing the finish line in 22:27.5 and she was 14th at the University of Rochester Invitational with a season-best 6-kilometer time of 23:11.0. Domico was second on the team in the first three races of the season. She opened the year with a third-place finish at St. John Fisher (15:20.2) and followed it up by finishing 19th overall (23:25.2) and 11th overall (22:40.0) in the next two races. Sophomore Rosanna Hyde was the team’s top finisher at Houghton, clocking in a time of 24:07.91. The Tigers will also rely on the experience of senior Marian Draper, who was 16th at the 2019 championship. She finished third on the team in two races with times of 16:07.1 (4K) and 23:47.01 (6K) respectively.
St. Lawrence is on the hunt for its second Liberty League title since 2018. This season, the Saints won Plattsburgh’s Cardinal Classic and the Saints’ own Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational. They were also second at the Hamilton Short Course Invitational, fifth at Geneseo’s Mike Woods Invitational and 13th at the Connecticut College Invitational. First-year Alli Sibold and sophomore Billie McCloskey had breakout rookie campaigns for the Saints. Sibold was the team leader in four of five races while McCloskey was tops on the team to open the season and second in three other races. Sibold, a three-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection had two individual victories placing first at Hamilton (4K; 14:49) and the Hoffmann Invitational (6K; 23:09.50). She posted a personal-best 6-kilometer time of 22:27.6 at Geneseo, where she placed eighth and she clocked in a time of 23:04 at Connecticut College. McCloskey opened the year with an individual victory at the Cardinal Classic (5K; 19:23.0). In 6-kilometer races, McCloskey was third at the Hoffmann Invitational with a time of 24:07.04 and trimmed more than a minute off her time at Geneseo, 23:04.1, good for 20th. Juniors Olivia Watson and Haylei Coolican will also run for the Saints and both participated in the 2019 championship. Watson’s season was highlighted by a fifth place showing at Hoffmann (24:12.78) and a time of 23:51 at Connecticut College. Coolican recorded times of 24:04.2 and 24:18 in her last two meets (Geneseo and Connecticut College).
Senior Hannah Yorkey of
Clarkson will be a runner to keep an eye on as she has paced the Golden Knights in every race this season. She won the Cross Country Only Championship finishing the event in 23:51.6 and Yorkey was runner-up in two races—the Hamilton Invitational (5K; 19:14.1) and Hoffmann Invitational (6K; 23:47).
William Smith will rely on junior Abby Palin, who has led the Herons in all six of the team’s races in 2021. She is coming off of a sixth-place showing at the 4-kilometer Hamilton Tune-Up Invitational.
Union sophomore Allison Malatesta has been the Dutchwomen’s front runner in all but one race this season. Her rookie season has been highlighted by a top-10 finish at the Keene Invitational (19:50.8) and top-20 finish at the Saratoga Invitational (25:36.4).
Bard’s Natasha Cameron was tops on the team in three races this season.