Oswego, NY —The State University of New York at New Paltz cross country team(s) were in action today at the SUNYAC Cross Country Championships hosted by SUNY Oswego. The women ran 6k and the men 8k at the Fallbrook Recreation Center just west of the SUNY Oswego campus. The men came in fourth out of teams which has only been achieved once before in 2018. The women finished third out of ten teams for the second time in program history. The women last finished third in 2018 and only scored higher once in 2019 when the team finished second. SUNY Cortland claimed both team championships.

Orquidea Briceno finished fifth overall to lead the Hawks in a time of 24:29.6. Briceno earned first team all-SUNYAC selection and immediate induction into the SUNYAC hall of fame by virtue of her top five finish. Marcella Candlin finished next for the Hawks in sixth place place in a time of 24:32.0 earning second team all-SUNYAC selection by finishing in the top ten. Lillian Stephenson followed in nineteenth place with a time of 25:26.7. Hunter Larson and Crystal Rustami finished in twenty-third and twenty-eighth place(s) places with times of 25:58.4 and 26:23.1 respectively to close out the scoring five for the Hawks. Mikayla Cecora and Mackenzie Barcomb finished as the Hawks displacers in thirty-third and thirty-seventh place(s) respectively. The Hawks had six more participants in the race including Jazmyne Daily-Simpson (fortieth), Allison English (forty-seventh), Alexandra Swink (forty- eighth), Sam Maendel (sixty-second), Ava Nargentino (sixty-fourth), and Keira Whitaker (sixty-ninth).

 

Evan Miller led the men's team with a second place finish and a time of 26:51.9. Miller earned the silver medal, first team all-SUNYAC selection and immediate induction into the SUNYAC hall of fame. Miller's performance was the best by any man in program history at the SUNYAC championship. Miller topped the previous top individual best of fourth set back in 2014. Gavin Bowers finished in twelfth place with a time of 27:33.7 and third team all-SUNYAC selection.  Oliver Melara-Perez and Vincent Mandracchia followed in seventeenth and thirty-first place(s) with time(s) of 27:52.0 and 28:36.9 respectively. Brandon Gardner rounded out the Hawks' scoring five in thirty-third place with a time of 28:40.9. Aidan Hesseltine and Joe Palazzolo finished as the Hawks' displacers in forty-fifth and fifty-fourth place(s) respectively. Anthony Willis was the Hawks eighth runner in the field and recorded a seventy-sixth place finish.

The cross country team(s) return to action on Saturday November 16 for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships hosted by Connecticut College at Harkness Memorial Park in Waterford, CT.   

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