Cross Country Teams Compete at the Mike Woods Invite
Over 500 men and almost 400 women competed at the Mike Woods Invite on Saturday October 19th at The National Warplane Museum grounds across the street from SUNY Geneseo (host school). The meet attracted top NCAA division 2 and 3 teams from New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia. The women had just about every member on the team hit a personal best in the race distance (6k). They were led by junior and 2021 USCAA National Champion, Katie Richardson who placed 177th with a time of 24:46. Soon after Richardson's finish, junior Margaret Ryan finished in 184th with a time of 24:49. The women were 23rd in the team standings pacing out Lock Haven, Hiram, Fredonia, Alfred State, Oglethorpe and Morrisville State. When the men's race started at noon it was much warmer and times were not what they had hoped for. However, 2 runners (Robby Slater and Liam Bonner) were able to set personal records in the 8k. Senior Colin Flannery led the men with a time of 28:01, placing 288th. The men finished 30th in the team standings ahead of Alfred, Westminster (PA) and Hiram. Both teams will compete at the Hamilton College Tune up on Saturday October 26th. Their final meet of the season will be the USCAA National XC Championship in Uniontown, PA on Sunday November 10th. Both teams will look to win a 4th consecutive national title.
Coach Melfi's comments:
Our women ran well and are in a good spot right now with 3 weeks until nationals. Our guys still need to figure things out. They are all in really great shape. Their time will come when we start to taper the miles and intensity of the workouts. Overall a good day for ESFXC with it being a great experience in a big time racing atmosphere.