2022 Liberty League Men's Cross Country Awards
RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Matt Lecky, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jr., Middletown, Conn.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute senior
Matt Lecky was a repeat selection as Liberty League Runner of the Year for 2022. Lecky placed 11th overall at the NCAA Division III Championship (25:12.5) - the second-best individual finish in RPI program history - to earn All-America honors while leading the Engineers to a ninth-place team finish at the national championship meet. Lecky consistently ranked among the top finishers in the region, which included a runner-up finish to Williams College senior Elias Lindgren at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional, (Lecky then defeated Lindgren at the NCAA finals). He was edged by teammate Cory Kennedy in a close Liberty League Championship race. A three-time selection as Liberty League Runner of the Week, Lecky won the Rowan Interregional Border Battle (24:15.1), a meet consisting of 36 teams and 309 runners.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Justin Cascio, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, FY, Burlington, Conn.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute first-year runner
Justin Cascio earned Liberty League Rookie of the Year honors. Cascio was the top first-year runner at the Liberty League Championship, finishing in 18th place in 25:48.4, which was 38 seconds ahead of the next first-year runner. A two-time selection as Liberty League Rookie of the Week, Cascio was recognized for his performance at the Paul Short Run after finishing in a personal-best 25:13.3 in the College Gold 8k race that consisted of just three Division III teams among the 46 competing teams. He was second among first-year runners and 18th overall at the Siena Invitational and seventh among first-year runners and 58th overall at the 309-competitor Rowan Interregional Border Battle.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – John Lynch, head coach
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute coaching staff, led by 12th-year head coach
John Lynch, was selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Lynch led the Engineers to a sixth straight Liberty League championship. RPI also finished second at the NCAA Mideast Regional, which earned the team an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III Championship where the Engineers placed a program-best ninth of 32 qualifying teams. The team also earned wins at the Siena Invitational, James Earley Invitational (Westfield State) and Rowan Interregional Border Battle. RPI climbed as high as sixth in the USTFCCCA Division III poll after picking up early season victories over Williams and Johns Hopkins. At the Liberty League Championship, the Engineers had 11 of the top 21 individual finishers, including six of the top eight. Lynch is assisted by Karina Bolton, Ben Fazio, Allison Thayer and Austin Turner.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
1. Cory Kennedy, RPI, 24:47.0
2. Matthew Lecky, RPI, 24:51.9
3. Timothy Boyce, St. Lawrence, 25:02.8
4. Mitchell Dailey, RPI, 25:05.4
5. Connor Wooding, RPI, 25:06.4
6. Patrick Smyth, RPI, 25:10.7
7. Miles Takiguchi, Vassar, 25:15.1
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
8. Jason Gibbons, RPI, 25:17.2
9. Danny Jagoe, Ithaca, 25:23.6
10. William Hawkins, RPI, 25:24.6
11. Steven Spreizer, RPI, 25:26.2
12. Jonathan Craun, RPI, 25:27.5
13. Aidan Mayer, Vassar, 23:29.5
14. Michael Skutt, St. Lawrence, 25:38.1
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
15. Aleksei Bingham, RIT, 25:42.2
16. Hassan Eissa, RIT, 25:46.6
17. Matt Chaikowsky, RIT, 25:48.3
18. Justin Cascio, RPI, 25:48.4
19. Benjamin Beaudry, RIT, 25:53.8
20. Jordan Crist, RPI, 26:02.0
21. Matthew Abell, St. Lawrence, 26:06.8
* All-Liberty League based on place finish at 2022 Liberty League Championship