Milton, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's and women's cross country teams had one of its best performances of the season at the Mount Saint Mary's College Invitational, placing second in the 8K and 6K races on Saturday.

SUNY New Paltz's 49 points in the men's race was only bested by SUNY Cobleskill's 25 points, while the women's 58 points was only more than Sage's 42. The men's side finished well ahead of New Jersey City, Western Connecticut State, Saint Rose, Sage, Monroe College, Pace, and Bridgeport. The women's side scored 50 more points than third place finishing Pace, and placed ahead of WCS, St. Rose, New Jersey City, Albany College of Pharmacy, the hosting Knights, and Bridgeport.

Mount Saint Mary's men's team did not score in the race.

Senior Jake Meyers finished first for SUNY New Paltz for the sixth straight race and placed second overall, just 11.2 seconds behind winner Eamonn Sullivan, with a time of 26 minutes, 52.9 seconds. Despite the second place finish, his time was 50 seconds better than his time at the New Paltz Invitational on Sep. 17. Graduate student Colin Battersby (28:19.6) and senior Trey Hotaling (28:20.3) placed back to back in 5th and 6th, respectively, while freshman Vincent Mandraccia (30:34.0) placed 19th overall. Sophomore Jimmy Curley (30:50.9) rounded out the scoring five for New Paltz with a 23rd overall finish. All but one runner set a career best at the Sportsdome. 

Freshman Luke Hoyt did not start the race, while juniors Brian Casey and Carlos Vasquez remained out for the Hawks.

Senior Clara Flores-Reininger finished first overall for the Hawks, the second straight first place finish for her at the Hudson Valley Sport Complex, at a time of 24 minutes, 27.2 seconds. Her time was a minute, 20 seconds better than second place finisher Hope Johnsky. Sophomore Ginny Clifford finished second for SUNY New Paltz and sixth overall with a time of 28 minutes, three seconds. Freshmen Allison English (28:34.3), Emily Gonzalez (29:28.9), and Mikayla Cecora placed 11th, 20th, and 26th, respectively, to finish the top five for SUNY New Paltz. Freshmen Erin Downs, Ceren Cebeci, and Cat Walker also had career days, finishing 29th, 36th, and 39th. All of the runners on the women's side set personal bests at this course, including English beating her New Paltz Invite time by a minute, 51 seconds.

Freshman Marcella Candlin did not race at all, while junior Kate Cochran and sophomore Angelique Santiago did not start the race, all due to rest for the final races.

SUNY New Paltz is back in action next Saturday for its final regular season meet, the Connecticut College Invitational, in New London, CT. The women's 6K begins at 10 a.m, with the men's 8K following at 11 a.m.

To view the full results from the 2021 Mount Saint Mary College Invitational, click here.

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