| 2024 Liberty League Cross Country Championships |
| Date & Time: November 2, 2024 - Women's Race: 11 AM | Men's Race: 12 PM |
| Location: Canton, N.Y. - Ronald C. Hoffmann Cross Country Course |
| Links: Live Results | Championship Page |
The Liberty League Cross Country Championships return to Canton, N.Y., on Saturday, November 2, for the first time since 2015. St. Lawrence University is set to host the 2024 edition of the championships.
The Saints welcome fellow league members Bard College, Clarkson University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Ithaca College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Union College, and Vassar College to northern New York this weekend.
The championships are at St. Lawrence's Ronald C. Hoffmann Cross Country Course. The women's 6-kilometer gets the day started at 11 AM and the men's 8-kilometer race follows at noon. An awards ceremony will conclude the day's festivities at 1 PM.
At the 2023 Men's Cross Country Championship,
RPI claimed its seventh consecutive Liberty League title and all five of the Engineers' scoring runners finished among the top nine. They compiled 26 points; Vassar was the runner-up with 59 points while St. Lawrence (66) rounded out the top three teams. Union was fourth with 114 points and the Garnet Chargers were followed by RIT (130), Ithaca (141), Clarkson (212), Hobart (262), and Bard (265).
The Engineers are the only Liberty League team on the men's side featured in the latest United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III poll. RPI is ranked seventh overall and the Engineers are the top team in the Mideast Region. There are four league schools ranked in the Mideast's top 10—RPI (1), St. Lawrence (6), Vassar (7), and Union (9). In the Niagara region, Ithaca and RIT check in at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
MEN'S PREVIEW | WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Despite the departure of two of the team's top five runners from last year's squad,
RPI is poised to hoist the league trophy for the eighth straight time on Saturday. Senior Vincent Simonetti (24:57.8), senior Jonathan Craun (25:02.4), and junior Jack Loughery (25:08.6) are all back after finishing fourth, seventh, and ninth at last year's championship. As a team, the Engineers were among the top three in three races and finished 18th in the Paul Short Run's Gold Race, which was primarily comprised of Division I teams. They were second among the three Division III squads in the race. At Geneseo's Mike Woods Invitational, Simonetti led the team to a runner-up finish and posted a season-best 8-kilometer time of 24:08.1. He also finished under 25 minutes at the Paul Short Run (24:57.2). Craun was the team's top finisher at Paul Short, crossing the finish line in a career-best 24:37.9 for 81st overall. He opened the year third at the Williams College Invitational at 26:58.6 and was 12th at Mike Woods (24:39.8). Loughery was the runner-up at Williams (26:55.9) and was among the top 100 at Paul Short (24:44.9). He was also among the top 20 at Mike Woods, placing 18th in 24:49.5. Junior Tobin Durham has also been a strong runner for the Engineers this season, finishing among the team's top four in all three races—Williams (27:17.8), Paul Short (24:48.7), and Mike Woods (24:35.1).
A trio of
Vassar runners, who all finished among the top 20 in 2023, pace the 2024 squad at this year's championship—senior Jose Magana, senior Tim Buchan, and sophomore Sean Miller. The Brewers have been led by Magana in their last three races this season. The senior was eighth at the championship last year (25:06.8). This year Magana recorded a career-best 8k time of 24:51.8 at the Connecticut College Invitational (32nd). He was 17th at the Paul Short Run (25:05.5) and seventh at the Wesleyan Invitational (25:10.7). Buchan was 17th at the 2023 championship with a time of 25:43.2. This year, he posted a team-best finish of third at Vassar's own Ron Stonitsch Invitational (6k; 19:37.2) and was 29th at the Wesleyan Invitational (8k; 25:50.9). He crossed the finish line in 26:32.3 at Paul Short and clocked a time of 26:19.4 at Connecticut College. Miller, who was 20th at last year's championship as a rookie (25:51.8) closed out the regular season, 46th overall at Connecticut College with a time of 25:07.5, which was a career-best time. He was 15th at the Wesleyan Invitational (25:25.8) and 29th at Paul Short (25:15.9).
St. Lawrence will look to improve upon its third-place showing at last year's championship with the 2024 championship on its home turf. Junior Nick Lyndaker leads the way for the Saints, he was the runner-up a year ago, crossing the finish line in 24:51.7, only 4.5 seconds behind the individual champion. Lyndaker finished tops on the team in all five races this season, including an individual victory at the Hamilton Short Course Invitational (5k; 15:10.7). In his three 8-kilometer races, he was among the top 10: the Hoffmann Invitational (10th, 26:19.0), Paul Short Run (6th, 24:45.3), and Connecticut College Invitational (4th, 24:20.0). His time of 24:20.0 at Connecticut College is the fastest 8k time recorded by a St. Lawrence runner since 2011. The Saints were the top Liberty League team and eighth overall at Connecticut College's Blue Race. Junior Patrick Russell and senior Matthew Taylor are also back to add depth to the squad. Russell was 23rd at the 2023 championship with a time of 25:59.6. This year, he was second on the team in all three 8k races. He was 11th at Hoffman (26:27.8), 48th at Paul Short (25:27.4), and 57th at Connecticut College; finishing a minute behind Lyndaker (25:20.4). Taylor's 2024 campaign has been highlighted by a 15th place showing at the Hamilton Short Course Invitational, he clocked a time of 16:05.5 in the 5k race. He also posted a career-best 8k time at Connecticut College (25:34.4).
Union is seeking its first title in program history as the Garnet Chargers build upon their 2023 Liberty League Championship finish (4th), which matched a program best. They are headlined by sophomore Ryan Russell, who earned All-Liberty League second-team honors in 2023; he was 13th with a time of 25:28.7. This year, Russell produced a pair of individual victories at the Vassar Season Starter (4k; 12:25.1) and Wesleyan Invitational (8k; 24:45.2). Russell finished seventh at the Paul Short Run's White Race with a time of 24:51.1 and was 15th overall at Connecticut College's Blue Race to go along with a career-best 24:37.5. Senior Benjamin Neff is also back as a top runner for the Garnet Chargers, last year he earned All-Liberty League honorable mention with a 18th-place showing at the championship (25:44.0). This year, Neff finished second on the team in all five races. He posted two top-eight finishes at Vassar's Season Starter (4k; 12:44.8, 8th) and Ron Stonitsch Invitational (6k; 19:37.2, 4th). He recorded a season-best 8k time of 25:25.4 at Connecticut College. Neff was also among the top 35 at Wesleyan, clocking a time of 26:05.9 (33rd).
A pair of juniors highlight this year's
RIT men's cross country team in Derick Koen and Evan Owens. As a team, the Tigers won Houghton's Highlander Invitational and were a top-four team in two other races (St. John Fisher, Fredonia). Koen was the Tigers' top finisher in four races, this season he won two races—the St. John Fisher Invitational (6k; 19:34.2) and the Highlander Invitational (8k; 25:55.6). He was also fourth at Fredonia's Invitational with a time of 25:40.6 and he was 18th at the University of Rochester Invitational at 26:39.9. Owens was 27th at the 2023 Liberty League Championship with a time of 26:03.2 and was the second Tiger to finish the race. In October, he was the runner-up at Houghton at 25:36.0. He was also among the top 10 at Fredonia (9th 26:08.0) and was tops on the team at Roberts Wesleyan, posting a time of 25:42.9 for 28th.
Other key runners to watch at the 2024 championship….
Ithaca's James Hughes is back, he was the only Bomber to earn All-Liberty League honors at last year's championship, where he was tenth (All-Liberty League second team) with a time of 25:22.0. He paced Ithaca in two races this season—Brockport Invitational (5k; 15:56.8, 4th), and Fredonia Invitational (6k; 25:54.8, 6th).
Clarkson has been led by a pair of runners sophomore Drew Reigelsperger and first-year Frank Consolazio. Reigelsperger, who was the Golden Knights' top runner a year ago (48th, 26:50.1) won the Cross Country Only Championship on October 19, with a time of 26:45.0. Consolazio, a three-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection, has had a breakout rookie campaign, he was seventh at the Middlebury Invitational with a time of 27:26.7 and was the runner-up at the Cross Country Only Championship, crossing the finish line in 26:53.4.
Hobart is paced by junior Sean Mucheru and first-year Duncan Kipkoech, who were the team's top runners for four of the last five races this season. Mucheru's and Kipkoech's best 8-kilometer times of the season were at the Cross Country Only Championship. Kipkoech placed third with a time of 26:58.8 and Mucheru was fifth at 27:20.0. Sophomore Able Bloodgood of
Bard has been the Raptors' most consistent performer, finishing first on the team in five races this season. He was eighth at New Paltz (6k; 23:39.9) and 17th at Queensborough (8k; 31:05.0). He cut three minutes from his 8k time in the final tune up before the Cross Country championship at Western New England (29:52.4).