New York College Runners Run for 2014 Nationals

During the past weekend, around eighty college runners who once loped the XC trailsfor New York high school teams earned themselves tickets to the national championship races next Saturday for NCAA Divisions 1 and 3. Most did it as part of teams, but some also finished high enough up at Regional races to earn at-large berths without a qualifying team. Hundreds of other runners put it all on the line in a final end-of-season performance but came up short of Nationals. For those who did qualify, the D1 runners will be heading to Indiana State University in Terra Haute for the meet on Saturday, and the D3 runners will fly to Wilmington College in Ohio halfway between Columbus and Cincinnati. This year provides an extra burst of excitement because a NY university loaded with many NY bred guys has jumped to #2 behind only Colorado in the D1 rankings, so the Orange of Syracuse will be trying to become only the second NY XC team to win a D1 title, 63 years after they won it in 1951.

And what about the D2 runners their fans may ask? They actually do have action going on for Saturday, but it's the Regional meets that set up the national championship two weeks later in Louisville. It's all part of the D2 National Championship Fall Festival on Dec. 6, an action package that includes soccer, volleyball, and field hockey championships. Maybe a cool idea for sports fans, but it does upset the trinity of D1-D2-D3 XC championships and has an impact on the indoor track season.

Finally, many more NY runners were running and sometimes winning titles at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), National Junior College Athletic Association D3 (NJCAA), and National Christian College Athletic Association D1 (NCCAA) championships, all for generally smaller schools. In each of these meets on the men's or women's side, NY runners picked up 1 team and 1 individual title in yet another strong showing.

Below is the breakdown of NY's D1 and D3 runners and their teams that are qualified for Nationals (or were top runners on qualifying teams who were rested but are expected to be running), a short preview of some NY influenced D2 teams that could be Nationals bound, and a celebration of the USCAA, NJCAA, and NCCAA runners who earned their piece of glory road. Qualifying teams are bolded in the team scores in the previews.

Please send in any additions or corrections to the article comments below, as we track down runners to the best of our ability but some do disappear into distant rosters or maybe were resting at Regionals. But their coaches and parents always remember them, so let us know where other qualified runners are hiding out so we can up the NY Qualifiers count.

On the men's side, the top story for NY runners was the ranking-boosting performance of the Syracuse guys who took 1st at Van Cortlandt Park in the Northeast Regional by 45-48 over Providence. NY guys Martin Hehir, Dan Lennon, and MJ Erb helped run the Orange to victory, and a rested Max Straneva should be at Nationals, all part of a campaign to make Cuse fans forget about basketball and lacrosse and just go crazy on XC. Another NY-based team also did well at VCP, with Iona earning an at-large selection after finishing 3rd with a squad that included Otis Ubriaco and Andrew Tario. The top NY finisher at any of the Regionals was Penn's Thomas Awad, who won an at-large selection with a 3rd in the Mid Atlantic Regional at Penn State.

On the women's side, one cheery note is that NY runners ran for three Regional champions, including 2nd ranked Georgetown and 3rd ranked Oregon. NY-based teams Iona and Syracuse finished 1st and 3rd at VCP in the Northeast Regional, though only Iona will likely have an NY runner at Nationals. Three NY runners finished in the top 10 at their Regionals, with Georgetown's Samantha Nadel and North Carolina's Lianne Farber finishing 8th and Katie Lembo taking a 10th, but Yale's Kira Garry took an at-large spot with an 11th. Megan Patrignelli and Brianna Nerud were also running for the West Regional winner Oregon.

With Syracuse ranked #2 on the men's side and Georgetown and Oregon at  #2 and #3 on the women's side, there's a decent chance that an NY runner will be running on a D1 national champion team for the first time since I believe Emily Lipari helped Villanova take the 2010 title. In all, five runners who won six NY state championship XC titles should be at Nationals (M. Young x 2, Nadel, Lennon, Straneva, Ubriaco).

Not everyone wins spots at Nationals, however. and among those who finished in the top 50 at Regionals without earning a ticket were: (Northeast Regional) Christina Melian (Susan Wagner) of Stony Brook was 15th, Taylor Spillane (Saratoga) of Cornell was 22nd, Kerry Caher (Shenendehowa) of St. Bonaventure was 34th, Leila Mantilla (Penfield) and Natalie Tanner (Rye Neck) of Columbia were 37th and 47th, and Michelle Gaye (Harborfields) of Marist was 48th; (Mideast Regional)  Valerie Palmero (Webster Schroeder) of Duquesne was 36th, and Erin Jaskot (Tappan Zee) of Villanova was 38th.

On the men's side, (Northeast Regional) Chad Maloy (Springville) of Canisius was 37th, Ethan Hausamann (Shaker) of Binghamton was 39th, Jeffrey Antolos (Notre Dame-Batavia) of Canisius was 43rd, and Josh Dyrland (Irondequoit) and James Gowans (Mexico) of Cornell were 45th and 52nd, (Mid Atlantic Regional) Eddie Owens (Packer Collegiate) of Princeton was 25th;  (Midwest Regional) Christian Delago (Shaker) of Iowa State was 24th and Alex Deir (Honeoye Falls-Lima) of Oklahoma was 52nd .

Megan Patrignelli - 18 (Oregon + Monroe-Woodbury), Brianna Nerud - 73 (Oregon + North Shore)

Note: Aisling Cuffe (Stanford + Cornwall) is redshirted for the 2014 season.

Making any predictions about the Division 2 Regionals this Saturday would not be one of my wisest moves in life, and though the division is not packed with powerful NY teams and is not known for sending lots of NY runners to finals, it still put 18 of our homegrown runners in the Nationals in 2013. And though last year saw the graduation of many top seniors like Edinboro's Sarah Krolick and Mansfield's Jessica and Kristy Scordino, there are still some hopeful signs that a bumper crop of NY runners could get to D2 Nationals in Louisville. The reasons are:

1. The D2 scheduling move that pushed regionals back one week and nationals two weeks means that Roberts Wesleyan did not have a conflict with appearing at the National Christian Colleges Athletic Association championship and the NCAA D2 East Regionals. Although for the guys only Keith Pease, Jordan Roselund, and Kyle Rapp  may have realistic shots at a Nationals place, the Redhawk women are ranked 20th nationally, and after earning the NCCAA title, the team's NY group of Rachel Prutsman, Megan Hulton, Elizabeth Valento, Rachel Hutchinson, Rachel Hust, and Kellie Lawton could be looking at a second trip to Nationals, and a much longer journey than the 75 minute ride to Houghton College for the NCCAAs.

2. The 16th ranked Edinboro PA women's team should again do very well in the Atlantic Regional, and Kasey Jones, Emma Sullivan, Megan Maffett, and Rebekkah Bond are among the Fighting Scots' NY runners looking for a return trip to Nationals. On the guys' side, the 22nd ranked group is also strong and includes Elliot Martinkiewic and Logan Kempney.

3. The Shippensburg PA guys are 15th ranked and Petter Gelston looks set for another Nationals visit.

4. The Merrimack MA women could again earn a qualifier in the East Regional, and Kristen Schmidt and Colleen Englert could again earn tickets.

5. The Mansfield PA women are not as strong as last year after some top level losses to graduation, but Destiny Park and Sarah Morin may still have some hopes of moving on.

6. And finally, Nick is back. The very memorable face of Adelphi last year is again looking good, and Nick Filippazzo will again be trying to light it up in the East Regional.

NY teams and NY runners earned 1st place finishes on both the men's and women's sides, as St. Lawrence swept the Atlantic Regional titles though by 1 point on the women's side, while RIT's Matt Giannino took 1st, and Caleton's Ruth Steinke was the top runner out in the Central Regional. More than 60 NY runners appear to be heading to the D3 Nationals at Wilmington College in Ohio. Since 4 of the top 5 ranked women's teams include one or many NY runners, it is likely that at least one NY runner will be on a D3 national champ, an experience Johns Hopkins' Abby Flock enjoyed last year. Johns Hopkins is again ranked #1, followed by MIT, St. Lawrence, SUNY Geneseo, and Williams. No NY guy is on a top 5 team, the top 4 of which are out in the Midwest, but they are sprinkled among top 11 squads St. Lawrence, MIT, Williams, and SUNY Geneseo.
 

50 of the NY runners heading to Nationals were running last Saturday in the Atlantic Regional. Besides champ Giannino of RIT, top 10 guys there included Zakk Hess of Fredonia State in 4th, Nick Marcantonio of Cortland State in 5th, and Jacob Andrews of RPI in 6th. The other top 10 Regional finisher among the guys was Matt Deyo of MIT who finished 8th in the New England meet. For the women in the Atlantic Regional, Cassia Hameline and Megan Kellogg were 2nd and 3rd for St. Lawrence, Cassie Goodman, Ashton Hughes, and Marissa Bellusci of Geneseo were 4th, 6th, and 9th, and Rachel Malone of Brockport was 5th. Besides Carleton's Ruth Steinke's victory in the Central meet, the other Regional top 10 finish was for Chicago's Catherine Young out in the Midwest.

Cassia Hamline - 2 (St. Lawrence + New Hartford), Megan Kellogg - 3 (St. Lawrence + Queensbury), Cassie Goodman - 4 (Geneseo + Midlakes), Rachel Malone - 5 (Brockport + Fairport), Ashton Hughes - 6 (Geneseo + Fairport), Marissa Bellusci - 9 (Geneseo + Lynbrook), Alyssa Drapeau - 11 (Oneonta + Burnt Hills), Emma Jones - 14 (RIT + Rush-Henrietta), Jackie Huben - 15 (Geneseo + Clarence), Kristen Homeyer - 17 (Geneseo + King's Park), Alyssa Knott - 19 (Geneseo + Smithtown), Brianna McLoughlin - 22 (Oneonta + Holy Child), Rachel Shine - 24 (Oneonta + Shenendehowa), Jeanna Castrogivanni - 27 (Geneseo + Smithtown), Marielle Genovesi - 28 (Oneonta + North Shore), Allison Bartowiak - 29 (Ithaca + Lockport), Carrie Pomainville - 30 (St. Lawrence + Franklin Academy), Michelyn Little - 31 (Cortland + Voorheesville), Kayla Blomback - 33 (Cortland + Orchard Park), Mary Kate Bida - 35 (Oneonta + Millbrook), Ameena Dye - 36 (Cortland - Jamesville-Dewitt), Ashley Leto - 37 (St. Lawrence + Seton Catholic-Plattsburgh), Emily Scott - 38 (Ithaca - Orchard Park), Kerri Culhane - 44 (Cortland + Sayville), Kailyn Balzano - 45 (Cortland + Columbia), Jaclyn Masucci - 47 (Oneonta + St. Joseph's by the Sea), Allison Schumann - 65 (Cortland + North Salem), Deirdre Davis - 79 (Oneonta + Warwick Valley), Megan Warner - 82 (Cortland + Niskayuna), Anna Rabideau - 99 (St. Lawrence + Seton Catholic-Plattsburgh)

Mohawk Valley CC emerged as the top local NJCAA D3 power at the Finger Lakes CC hosting site as it split the top two places at the national titles with Harper College of Illinois, the women Hawks taking their championship while the men were runners-up. Stephanie Boucher, Mary Manzari, and Annamarie Roberts led MVCC to the win, but it was Herkimer CC's Victoria Campanian who took 1st to get her own national title. And as always, the 4th place FIT team ran fashionably well. On the men's side, the top finishers for 2nd place MVCC were Barrett Celecki in 4th and Todd Stevens in 5th.

The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, or as we much prefer to refer to it as, SUNY ESF, had its second straight year of huge success in the USCAA championships as the men again won the championship they hosted on Nov. 7, and the women came in 3rd behind Dine, a Navajo school in AZ. SUNY ESF's Timmy Callahan was again the champ, and Stephen Slonosky, Thomas Acuri, and Reed Scott finished in the top 10 for the Mighty Oaks. Alfred State was 3rd on the men's side, and Keith Johnson was 3rd for the Pioneers. The SUNY ESF women were led by Camila Ferguson-Sierra in 14th, and Albany College of Pharmacy was 5th behind Jessica Monzyk's 4th place finish.

The SUNY ESF athletic site is also doing well with videos of soccer team members showing how to use some fancy footwork to compost an orange, and their woodsmen team demonstrating how to effectively use chain saws, axes, and outdoor fires in competitions, all skills that are useful to veteran cross country runners.

Timmy Callahan - 1 (SUNY-ESF + Massapequa), Keith Johnson - 3 (Alfred + Webster Thomas), , Stephen Slonosky - 5 (SUNY-ESF + Jordan-Elbridge), Thomas Acuri - 6 (SUNY ESF + Sauquoit Valley), Jordan Rusek - 7 (Alfred + Williamsville East), Reed Scott - 9 (SUNY-ESF + Sullivan West), Jacob Hanss - 14 (Alfred + East Rochester), Michael Persspn - 18 (SUNY ESF + Morris Catholic), Peter Leduc - 22 (SUNY ESF + Canton, Richard Monaco - 31 (SUNY ESF + Wantagh), James Westman - 32 (Alfred + Fonda-Fultonville), Eric Hulbert - 34 (Alfred + Mexico), Benjamin Schmidt - 35 (Albany CoP + Rome Free Academy), Tom Lattanzi - 38 (Alfred + King's Park), Jonathan Pearl - 39 (Alfred + Campbell-Savona), Austin Johnston - 42 (SUNY Canton + Auburn), Thomas Lauzon - 45 (SUNY Canton + Salmon River), Dean Dean Ostrofski - 54 (Albany CoP + JFK Bellmore)

The Roberts Wesleyan women runners celebrated their second straight NCCAA D1 national title, this time at Houghton College in NY, as Rachel Prutsman, Megan Hulton, Elizabeth Valento, Rachel Hutchinson, and Rachel Hust finished in the top 10. Prutsman came in 1st after being nipped at the wire last year. Lee of TN was the winner on the men's side, and the Roberts Wesleyan men finished in 8th.

Roberts Wesleyan will also be competing in the D2 East Regional this Saturday.