The 2024 Liberty League Men's Cross Country major award recipients as voted by the conference's head coaches following the NCAA Championship—
CO-RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Nick Lyndaker, Junior, St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence junior Nick Lyndaker was recognized as the 2024 Liberty League Co-Runner of the Year. Lyndaker won the Liberty League Championship individual title with a record-breaking time of 24:35.3. He shattered his home course record time of 24:39.4 from 2011 by more than four seconds. He also posted a league-best championship time breaking the record of 24:47 set in 2022. He followed that up with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional (24:43.7) and 59th among 294 runners at the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship with a time of 24:58.1. He also posted individual victories in a pair of five-kilometer races—Plattsburgh Invitational (16:11.4) and Hamilton Short Course Invitational (15:10.7). Lyndaker recorded a personal-best eight kilometer race time of 24:20.0 at the Connecticut College Invitational in mid-October.
CO-RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Vincent Simonetti, Senior, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RPI senior Vincent Simonetti was selected as the 2024 Liberty League Co-Runner of the Year. Simonetti paced the league in the NCAA Mideast Regional and NCAA Division III Championship finishing third and 42nd respectively. He crossed the finish line in 24:26.4 at the regional and 24:47.6 at nationals. Simonetti was the first RPI runner and the overall runner-up at this year’s Liberty League Championship with a time of 24:42.2, leading the Engineers to their eight consecutive league title. He also helped RPI win the NCAA Mideast Regional, for the team’s first regional meet victory since 2018. Simonetti, a three-time Liberty League Performer of the Week selection this season, also posted an individual victory at Geneseo’s Mike Woods Invitational, crossing the finish line in a season-best eight kilometer race time of 24:08.1.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Thomas Manson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RPI first-year Thomas Manson was named the 2024 Liberty League Rookie of the Year. He was the top rookie finisher at the conference championship, placing 19th overall and earning All-Liberty League Honorable Mention recognition. He posted a time of 25:49.7, one-tenth of a second behind 18th. The three-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection recorded a season-best eight kilometer time at Lehigh’s Paul Short Run (Gold Race)—25:31.9, where he was 222nd with Division I, II and III competition. He was also eighth at the Williams’ Purple Valley Invitational with a time of 27:15.9.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – John Lynch, head coach
The RPI coaching staff, led by 14th-year head coach John Lynch garnered Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year accolades. Lynch guided the Engineers to their eighth consecutive Liberty League title with 21 points; 12 of the team’s 14 entries earned All-Liberty League, including all five scoring runners finishing among the top seven (All-Liberty League First Team). RPI also claimed the team title at the NCAA Mideast Regional (22 points) and seven runners were recognized with All-Region accolades. With the regional meet victory, RPI secured a spot in the NCAA Division III Championship for the eighth straight year. The Engineers finished ninth at nationals for the second time in program history and for the second time since 2022, tying for the second-best finish in program history. RPI also won a team title Williams’ Purple Valley Classic to open the 2024 season and finished among the top 10 in six of seven events this year. Lynch is assisted by Karina Bolton, Ben Fazio, Allison Thayer, Hannah Tighe, and Austin Turner.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
- Nick Lyndaker, St. Lawrence, 24:35.3
- Vincent Simonetti, RPI, 24:42.2
- Jonathan Craun, RPI, 24:47.1
- Jack Loughery, RPI, 24:50.0
- Tobin Durham, RPI, 24:54.4
- Ryan Russell, Union, 24:55.5
- Evan Lacey, RPI, 25:01.2
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
- Derick Koen, RIT, 25:05.7
- Justin Cascio, RPI, 25:06.5
- Jack Czarnecki, RPI, 25:24.7
- Benjamin Neff, Union, 25:25.1
- Jose Magana, Vassar, 25:26.8
- Brady Geisler, RPI, 25:27.9
- Gwilym Horner, RPI, 25:34.7
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
- Anthony Zarrella, RPI, 25:35.6
- Sean Miller, Vassar, 25:44.5
- Colin Goldschmidt, RPI, 25:47.6
- Matthew Taylor, St. Lawrence, 25:49.5
- Thomas Manson, RPI, 25:49.7
- Patrick Russell, St. Lawrence, 25:53.1
- Ben Buffone, Ithaca, 25:53.7
* All-Liberty League based on place finish at the 2024 Liberty League Championship