Poughkeepsie, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz cross country men's and women's teams placed fifth and fourth, respectively, at the Vassar College Ron Stonitsch Invitational Saturday.

The hosting Brewers placed first in the men's 6K race with 30 points. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which placed second by five points in the men's race, dominated the women's 5K with a score of 39. The Hawks finished with 114 on the men's side, behind Vassar, RPI, SUNY Delhi, and Ramapo to place fifth out of seven schools, and scored 112 on the women's side, behind RPI, Coast Guard, and Vassar, to finish fourth out of the ninth schools. Bard and Sage finished sixth and seventh behind the New Paltz men, while Ramapo, FDU-Florham, Sage, SUNY Delhi, and Bard trailed the New Paltz' women.

"I definitely think that the Vassar opener gave us some good information to build off of," said Hawks coach Aislinn Ryan. "Both the men and the women — especially the men — went out easier, which was good. They went out too fast last time, so I think that it was beneficial for them to go out a little bit more controlled, and it helped them in the heat today for sure." 

Senior Jake Meyers (19:49.6) crossed the finish line first for SUNY New Paltz for the second week in the row, finishing 13th overall. Fellow seniors Colin Battersby (20:18.8) and Trey Hotaling (20:52.3) concluded second and third for the Hawks and finished 30th and 41st overall, respectively. Juniors Carlos Vasquez and Brian Casey finished 48th and 56th, respectively, to round out the scoring five for the men. 

On the women's side, it was a second consecutive impressive run for junior Kate Cochran (19:32.8), finishing first again for SUNY New Paltz and fifth overall. Senior Clara Flores-Reininger finished right behind Cochran at sixth with a time of 19 minutes, 40 seconds. Freshman Marcella Candin (20:53.7) finished 26th, sophomore Virginia Clifford (21:59.0) finished 47th, and junior Felicia Ojarovsky (22:02.9) finished 49th to complete the scoring for the women. 

"Kate's done a lot of waiting to get to this point," said Ryan. "She's not going to waste a race, which is kind of great to be at that point. I think as far as her development, she's just looking forward and looking at the people who came in front of her today. I think it's motivation for her goal to make nationals."

In their first collegiate races, freshman Mikayla Cecora (24:46.7) placed 77th and sophomore Angelique Santiago (27:58.7) concluded at 91st. Although he did not score, sophomore Jimmy Curley was impressive in his first action, finishing 65th to place in the top seven for the men's Hawks.

"It's great having [Curley and freshman Vincent Mandraccia] in the top seven," said Ryan. "It's an awesome debut for Jimmy and Vincent is just consistently moving up in workouts and these past two races as well. It's great for him."

SUNY New Paltz is back in action for their first and only home meet on Friday, when they will host the New Paltz Invitational at the Hudson Valley Sportsdome. The meet will start at 4 p.m.

To view the full results from the 2021 Vassar Ron Stonitsch Invitational, click here.

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