The 2023 Liberty League Men's Cross Country major award recipients as voted by the conference's head coaches following the NCAA Championship—
RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Cory Kennedy, Senior, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute senior
Cory Kennedy was recognized as the Liberty League Runner of the Year for 2023. Kennedy placed fifth overall at the NCAA Division III Championship with a time of 24:32.0, the second-best individual finish in RPI program history. He earned All-America honors and helped the Engineers to a program-best seventh-place finish at the national championship meet. Kennedy was also the individual champion at the Liberty League Championship and the NCAA Mideast Regional. At the conference championship, he posted a winning time of 24:47.2 as he led the Engineers to the team title, the seventh straight for RPI. At the regional, he recorded a time of 23:56.7 for the individual victory as RPI placed second out of 25 teams, earning an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III Championship. A five-time Liberty League Performer of the Week this season, he also placed first at the Engineers' own Harvest Classic (24:23.8) to open the 2023 campaign and was third at the Pre-Nationals meet in early October (24:52.4).
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Evan Lacey, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute first-year runner
Evan Lacey garnered Liberty League Rookie of the Year accolades. Lacey was the top first-year runner at the conference championship, placing 19th in 25:46.7, which was 5.1 seconds ahead of the next first-year runner. A two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week honoree, Lacey was also recognized for his performance at Bard's Fred Pavlich Invitational, where he was 15th overall and the third first-year to cross the finish line with a time of 25:57.7. He posted a personal best 8-kilometer time of 25:10.4 at SUNY Geneseo's Mike Woods Invitational in mid-October, good for 59th among 371 competitors and fifth among first-year runners.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – John Lynch, head coach
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute coaching staff, led by 13th-year head coach
John Lynch was selected as the Coaching Staff of the Year. Lynch directed the Engineers to a seventh consecutive Liberty League championship. RPI also finished second at the NCAA Mideast Regional for the second straight year, earning an at-large team bid to the Division III Championship where the Engineers finished a program-best seventh of 32 qualifying teams. At the national championship meet, RPI had the best combined individual 1-2 finish with Kennedy in fifth (24:32.0) and Simonetti in eighth (24:39.6), they both earned All-America honors. Lynch is assisted by Karina Bolton, Ben Fazio, Allison Thayer, Hannah Tighe, and Austin Turner.
All-Liberty League First Team
- Cory Kennedy, RPI, 24:47.2
- Nicholas Lyndaker, St. Lawrence, 24:51.7
- Miles Takiguchi, Vassar, 24:54.9
- Vince Simonetti, RPI, 24:54.9
- Mitchell Dailey, RPI, 24:58.7
- Michael Skutt, St. Lawrence, 25:00.2
- Jonathan Craun, RPI, 25:02.4
All-Liberty League Second Team
- Jose Magana, Vassar, 25:06.8
- Jack Loughery, RPI, 25:08.6
- James Hughes, Ithaca, 25:22.0
- Jason Gibbons, RPI, 25:24.3
- Aidan Mayer, Vassar, 25:27.8
- Ryan Russell, Union, 25:28.7
- Matt Chaikowsky, RIT, 25:31.2
All-Liberty League Honorable Mention
- George Gowdy, St. Lawrence, 25:34.4
- Caleb Watson, RPI, 25:36.0
- Tim Buchan, Vassar, 25:43.2
- Benjamin Neff, Union, 25:44.0
- Evan Lacey, RPI, 25:46.7
- Sean Miller, Vassar, 25:51.8
- Charlie Alekson, Union, 25:52.8
* All-Liberty League based on place finish at the 2023 Liberty League Championship