2021 Liberty League Men's Cross Country Awards
RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Matt Lecky, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jr., Middletown, Conn.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute junior Matt Lecky was selected as the Liberty League Runner of the Year for 2021. Lecky was the individual champion at the Liberty League Championship with a winning time of 25:39.5. His 13-second victory led the Engineers to the team title, which was the fifth straight for RPI. At the NCAA Mideast Regional, Lecky earned all-region honors with an eighth-place finish (25:20.3) as RPI placed third out of 26 teams, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. At the national championship meet, Lecky was the league’s top finisher and earned All-America honors by finishing 38th in 24:21.6. He also earned three other first-place finishes during the season, including the Paul Short Invitational (Men’s College Brown), Saratoga Invitational and Ron Stonitsch Invitational.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Vincent Simonetti, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, FY, Massapequa, N.Y.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute first-year runner Vincent Simonetti earned Liberty League Rookie of the Year honors. A two-time selection as Liberty League Rookie of the Week, Simonetti was the top first-year finisher at the Liberty League Championship, placing fifth in 25:57.0. He was just 4.2 seconds behind the second-place finisher, earning All-Liberty League first-team honors. At the NCAA Mideast Regional, Simonetti finished 22nd (25:44.2) and was the fifth freshman across the line. At the NCAA Division III Championship, Simonetti was third across the line for the Engineers and 114th overall with a season-best time of 24:56.5 (5:01.0 pace) in the field of 289 finishers.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – John Lynch, head coach
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute coaching staff, led by 11th-year head coach John Lynch, was selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Lynch led the Engineers to a fifth straight Liberty League championship. RPI also finished third at the NCAA Mideast Regional, which earned the team an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III Championship where the Engineers placed 14th of 32 qualifying teams. Rensselaer did not compete in the fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team’s top seven runners from the 2019 team that won the Liberty League title and finished 10th nationally all graduated, leaving Lynch with a very young team entering the 2021 season. RPI had three of the top seven finishers at the league championship and produced eight all-league performers. Lynch coached junior Matt Lecky to an All-America finish in his first appearance at the national championship. Lynch is assisted by Karina Bolton, Ben Fazio, Allison Thayer and Austin Turner.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
1. Matt Lecky, Jr., RPI, 25:39.5
2. Miles Takiguchi, Jr., Vassar, 25.52.8
3. Ben Tiber, Sr., Ithaca, 25:53.4
4. Jack Casalino, Sr., Vassar, 25:53.5
5. Vince Simonetti, So., RPI, 25:57.0
6. Reed Dolan, Sr., Vassar, 25:59.9
7. Cory Kennedy, So., RPI, 26:00.2
ALL-LIERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
8. Danny Jagoe, Jr., Ithaca, 26:01.5
9. George Gowdy, So., St. Lawrence, 26:04.7
10. John Reed, Gr., RPI, 26:09.5
11. Aleksei Bingham, Sr., RIT, 26:11.5
12. Johnathan Dean, Sr., Vassar, 26:15.0
13. Owen Szabo, Sr., RPI, 26:16.6
14. Aidan Mayer, So., Vassar, 26:18.0
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
15. Kevin Cronin, Jr., Clarkson, 26:18.5
16. Timothy Boyce, FY, St. Lawrence, 26:18.9
17. Connor Wooding, Sr., RPI, 26:19.3
18. Jackson Hamilton, So., St. Lawrence, 26:23.1
19. Patrick Smyth, Jr., RPI, 26:24.4
20. Patrick Bierach, So., Ithaca, 26:54.4
21. Steven Spreizer, Sr., RPI, 26:38.5
* All-Liberty League based on place finish at 2021 Liberty League Championship