New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz cross country team will run its final regular season meet of the season Saturday at the Connecticut College Invitational.

It is the final race of the season for SUNY New Paltz before the playoff season begins, starting with the SUNYAC Championships in Cortland, NY on Oct. 30.

"This is the last race to make mistakes, so each runner goes into SUNYACs and [NCAA] Regionals knowing exactly how to run their best race," said Hawks coach Aislinn Ryan. "Our goal is to get familiar with a course that we hope to race perfectly on November 13 for the regional."

The Connecticut College Invite will take place at Harkness Park in Waterford, CT, which is also the location of the NCAA Mideast Regionals on Nov. 13. The meet is unusual from the Hawks first five 8K and 6K races. The top eight women runners will run in the Caroline Grape '22 Memorial Blue Race — named after a former Connecticut College runner who passed away in 2019 — while the top eight men will race in the men's 8K Blue Race. The remaining runners will run in the White Races, listed as the "JV Races." A field of 29 schools, many nationally ranked, plus the hosting Camels alumni team, will race in the four races. 

Freshmen Ceren Cebeci and Cat Walker and sophomore Erin Downs will race in the White 6K race, while freshman Luke Hoyt, sophomore Jimmy Curley and graduate student Reed Williams will race in the White 8K race. Freshmen Marcella Candlin, Allison English and Jazmyne Daily-Simpson; sophomore Ginny Clifford; junior Kate Cochran; and senior Clara Flores Reininger will race in the Caroline Grape Memorial 6K. Freshman Vincent Mandracchia; seniors Jake Meyers, Trey Hotaling, and Chris D'Antonio, and graduate student Colin Battersby will race in the Blue 8K Race.

Ryan said they expect their team to put personal bests across the board, citing that the Harkness Park course will be SUNY New Paltz's fastest course it will run on this season.

The Hawks come into the races after a strong performance at the Mount Saint Mary's College Invitational at their home course in Milton, NY on Oct. 9. Both teams earned second place finishes at the course, with the men's and women's teams finishing with 49 and 58 points, respectively. Senior Jake Meyers (26:52.9) led the men for a sixth straight race, placing second overall, while graduate student Collin Battersby (28:19.6) and senior Trey Hotaling (28:20.3) finished fifth and sixth, respectively. In the women's race, Senior Clara Flores-Reininger won her second race of the season in the women's 6K, both at the same course at the Hudson Valley Sportsdome with an impressive 24 minutes, 27.2 seconds time. Her latest performances on the grass courses have left her with a viable chance to make the National Championship alongside Meyers and junior Kate Cochran. 

Between the men and women, all but one SUNY New Paltz runner set personal best times at the Hudson Valley Sports Complex, including freshman Allison English (28:34.3) besting her New Paltz Invite time by a minute, 51 seconds. 

Cochran, who did not start the Mount Saint Mary's College Invite, is slated to run in the Caroline Grape Memorial race. Juniors Brian Casey and Carlos Vasquez, who have missed the last three races due to injury, suffered setbacks in their returns to racing and will not compete.

After Saturday's race, the Hawks will have a week off to prepare for potentially three postseason meets. 

"Not having a race [next week] gives us the opportunity to have several killer workouts in the week where we can really focus on the things we need to improve without worrying of getting too tired for a race," Ryan said.

The College Connecticut Invitational is scheduled to begin on Saturday with the women's 6K White Race at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 8K white race at 11 a.m. The Caroline Grape '22 Memorial women's and men's Blue Races begin at 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

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