New York Alumni on the Run at 2019 Nationals

Shane Pease

The NCAA D1, D2, and D3 titles were all decided on one Saturday this year, and for the second straight year an NY alumnus was a big part of a national champion squad. Last year Sage Hurta led her Colorado Buffalo team to the D1 title, and this year it was Sam Levy who was the first Blue Jay over the line as Johns Hopkins captured its third Women's D3 title in the last four years. No NY runner captured an individual title, but SUNY Geneseo's Genny Corcoran came close with a 2nd in the D3 race, while Aidan Ryan had the top finish for the guys with a 10th in the D3 race.

The final tally for NY runners at the top divisions' Nationals was 113, as we found a few names that were overlooked from the Regionals results. All around it was a banner year for the NY contingent, as seniors like Conor Lundy and John Rice made big gains from last year to finish out their college careers with a top-100 result, and Sage Hurta finished off hers with her fourth straight top-40 finish in D1. And looking to the future, ex-States champs Kelsey Chmiel and Eva Borton both started off their college Nationals experiences with high 22nd places in D1 and D3. Jess Lawson in her junior year continues to make giant strides with an 11th place last Saturday, putting her on the brink of the first top 10 finish in D1 by a NY woman since Aisling Cuffe and Emily Lipari finished 4th and 5th back in 2013.

NCAA D1 Men

Who Ran from NY:    Conor Lundy (Princeton, Fordham Prep) 70,  John Rice (Texas, Xavier) 83, Bryce Millar (Indiana, Fayetteville-Manlius) 148, Shea Weilbaker (Georgetown, Saratoga) 211, Nathan Lawler (Syracuse, Pittsford Mendon) 230,  Ryan Kutch (Fordham, Saint Anthony's) 241. Ty Brownlow (Georgetown, Liverpool) was listed as present but did not start.

Nationals Contest: BYU decisively ended Northern Arizona's three-year reign as D1 champions by a 109-163 margin. Of the teams with an NY guy running, Indiana had the best place at 13th with Bryce Millar as the 5th man in for the Hoosiers. Last year bothe Conor Lundy and John Rice finished a little outside of the top 100, but this year they saw big improvements as Lundy placed 70th and Rice was in at 83rd. Among the other teams besides Indiana that included an NY runner, Texas was 25th, Syracuse was 27th, and Georgetown was 28th.

NCAA D1 Women

Who Ran from NY:  Jessica Lawson (Stanford, Corning) 11, Kelsey Chmiel  North Carolina State, Saratoga) 22, Sage Hurta (Colorado, Hamilton) 38, Anna Kostarellis (Xavier, Churchville-Chili) 66, Kathryn Munks (Penn State, Monroe-Woodbury) 80, Alexandra Hays (Columbia, Shoreham-Wading River) 84, Gabrielle Orie (Cornell, Nardin) 90,  Hannah Reinhardt (Albany, Clarence) 99,  Lauren White (Boston College, Syosset) 104, Hannah Butler (Brown, Jamesville-Dewitt) 106,  Sarah Flynn (Boston College, Ursuline) 183, Emily Acker (Columbia, Albany Academy) 194, Julia Zachgo (North Carolina State, Shenendehowa) 209, Paige Duca (Boston College, Friends Academy) 212,  Alex Harris (New Mexico, North Rockland) 227. 

Nationals Contest:  Arkansas edged BYU by 96 to 102 to win its first national championship, while Weini Kelati of New Mexico was the individual champ. 2018 champ Colorado was led by Sage Hurta with a 38th place finish, but this year the Buffaloes did not have the same depth and fell back to 10th. Jess Lawson was the top NY alumni in 11th, and her Stanford team was just a little ways in back of the top two teams in 3rd. Alex Harris ran for the 4th place New Mexico Lobos.

Last year only three NY runners finished in the top 100, but a big bunch of 8 managed the feat this year, with another two very near the mark. Kelsey Chmiel in her freshman year at NC State was 22nd and her Wolfpack squad finished 5th. Anna Kostarellis of Xavier was the fourth NY runner in at 66th, and Kathryn Munks finished 80th for 18th-place Penn State. Alexandra Hays finished 84th for 27th place Columbia, while Gabrielle Orie was the first runner in for 29th-place Cornell in 90th. Finally, Hannah Reinhardt of Albany U. capped off a wonderful season with a 99th place finish.

NCAA D2 Men

Who Ran from NY:   Christopher Sims (Roberts Wesleyan, Lockport) 140, James Betts (Roberts Wesleyan, Clarkstown North) 179, Nathan Cannon (Roberts Wesleyan, Gates-Chili) 184, Justin Shaffer (Roberts Wesleyan, Webster Schroeder) 217, Shane Pease (Roberts Wesleyan, Greece Athena) 219,  Connor Demo (Roberts Wesleyan, Beaver River) 227, Chris Davitt (Le Moyne, Bethlehem) 233,  Jack Lacina (Edinboro, Hamburg) 254

Nationals Contest: Colorado Mines was the D2 Men's champ for the second time with a dominating 57-136 margin over Adams State. The two teams with NY runners were well back, as Roberts Wesleyan was 31st and Edinboro was 34th. Chris Sims led the way for the NY contingent in 140th.

NCAA D2 Women

Who Ran from NY:  Hope Pietrocarlo (Edinboro, Maple Grove) 15, Ashley Watson (Roberts Wesleyan, Schuylerville) 125, Brittany Shumway Roberts Wesleyan, Saranac Lake) 134,  Tori Klimowicz (Edinboro, East Aurora) 135, Bailey Gostomski (Roberts Wesleyan, Cattaraugus-Little Valley) 162,  Abigail Gostomski (Roberts Wesleyan, Cattaraugus-Little Valley) 189, Moriah Martone (Roberts Wesleyan, Spencerport) 200, Erin Graham (Roberts Wesleyan, Palmyra-Macedon) 216,  Kimberly Goerss (Edinboro, Newfane) 223, Aleziah Brooks (Edinboro, Elmira) 231

Nationals Contest:  Adams State won its record 18th national championship by a huge 23-87 margin over 2018 champ Grand Valley State. The highlighter for the NY crowd was 2013 States D champ Hope Pietrocarlo who ran to a fantastic 15th place and helped Edinboro to an 18th place, a leap of 12 places for Pietrocarlo and 5 places for the Fighting Scots from 2018.  Ashley Watson was the top finisher for Roberts Wesleyan in 125th as the Redhawks finished 28th..

NCAA D3 Men

Who Ran from NY:    Aidan Ryan (Williams, Trinity) 10, Matthew Sayre (Geneseo, Lakeland-Panas) 23, Luke Holtzman (Geneseo, New Rochelle) 26,  Evan Page (St. Lawrence, Seton Catholic-Plattsburgh) 32, Theo Henderson (Middlebury, Haldane) 34, Declan Hines (Johns Hopkins, Saratoga) 43, Sean Kuehn (Brockport State, Central Square) 54, Patrick Dye (Johns Hopkins, Jamesville-Dewitt) 81, Riley Grossman (Geneseo, Bethlehem) 96, Blake Dellabough (Oneonta, Warwick Valley) 102, Matt Karee  (Carnegie Mellon, Elmira Notre Dame) 104, Hunter Hartshorne (Carnegie Mellon, Ithaca) 115, Brad Farnham (Geneseo, Penfield) 142, Ezra Ruggles (Geneseo, Saratoga) 145, Forest Stewart (Ithaca, Cortland) 151, Nicholas Vielhauer (St. Lawrence, Ogdensburg) 157,  Matthew Dillon (Emory, Arlington) 158, Matt Palmer (Oneonta, Schuylerville) 197, Sean McAneny (Geneseo, Greenville) 198, Matt Whitworth (SUNY New Paltz, Pawling) 202, Sean Ryan (Oneonta, Bronxville) 213, Ethan McDonald (Oneonta, Guilderland) 223, Aidan Smith (Oneonta, Massapequa) 238,  Bart Rust (Bates, Croton Harmon) 240, Graham Rainsby (Middlebury, Packer Collegiate) 246, Ryan O'Rourke (Oneonta, Adirondack) 248, Chris Tinti (Ithaca, St. John the Baptist) 258, Matthew Abell (St. Lawrence, Fairport) 260, Brandon Martin (Oneonta, Central Square) 263, Danny Napora (RPI, RC Ketchum) 269.

Nationals Contest:  Pomona-Pitzer won its first championship by 164-182 to keep 2018 champ North Central from claiming its 20th. Aidan Williams led the NY contingent in 10th, but his pre-race favorite Williams Ephs were 1 point in back of North Central in 3rd. Declan Hines in 34th and Patrick Dye in 81st scored for 5th place Johns Hopkins. SUNY Geneseo was the tops of the NY colleges in the race at 8th, and the Blue Knights were led by Matt Sayre in 23rd and Luke Holtzman in 26th. Evan Page was the second runner in for 15th-place St. Lawrence in 32nd, Theo Henderson was the top guy for 29th-place Middlebury in 34th, and Sean Kuehn running as an at-large runner for Brockport State was also among the top 20% at 54th.

NCAA D3 Women

Who Ran from NY:  Genny Corcoran (Geneseo, Westhill) 2,  Samantha Levy (Johns Hopkins, Fayetteville-Manlius) 17,  Eva Borton (Williams, Clinton) 22,  Maggie Bond (RPI, Watkins Glen) 49, Kayla Murawski (DeSales, Northport) 75, Jordan Hurlbut (Rochester, Palmyra-Macedon) 84, Windsor Ardner (Geneseo, Liverpool) 89, Hannah Weppner (RIT, East Aurora) 90, Kelly Reese (Rochester, Mynderse Academy) 107, Emma Johnston (Dickinson, Pelham) 112, Missy Graham (Geneseo, Wellsville) 127, Mariellen Penzer (Geneseo, Saratoga) 131, Jamie Amoroso (John Carroll, Barker) 140, Olivia Visaggio (Misericordia, Our Lady of Mercy) 144, Lauren Pollak (Tufts, John Jay-Cross River) 150, Marian Draper (RIT, Rome Free Academy) 162, Annibel Coolican (Geneseo, Westhill) 167,  Kaitlyn Stinson (Utica, South Kortright) 168, Katie Cobos (RIT, Canandaigua) 197, Ciara Knott (Geneseo, Saratoga) 199, Wade Lacey (Carnegie Mellon, Albany Academy) 201,  Jane Hollander (Wesleyan, Mamaroneck) 206, Danielle Bartolotta (Rochester, Warwick Valley) 209, Michelle Murray (RPI, Harborfields) 210, Cassandra Williams (SUNY New Paltz, Arlington) 225, Lilianna Matala (Dickinson, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) 227,  Olivia Spencer (RIT, Red Jacket) 243, Sarah Rudge (Ithaca, Onteora) 246, Cassidy McGinn (Geneseo, Tully) 247, Maria Matkoski (Ithaca, West Genesee) 254, Kelly Farrell (Ithaca, Penfield) 259,  Lily Digman (Vassar, Shenendehowa) 264, Elisabeth Rott (Rochester, Clarence) 276,  Emily Cavanagh (SUNY New Paltz, Warwick Valley) DNF.

Nationals Contest: There were big highlights for the NY runners in the Women's D3 race. On the team side, Samantha Levy finished 17th to lead her Johns Hopkins team to its sixth national championship and fifth in the last seven years as the Blue Jays beat 2018 champ and top-rated Washington U. by 125-138. SUNY Geneseo's Genny Corcoran went out hard and never slowed down as she captured the same 2nd place finish that she had earned at Atlantic Regionals, again playing off Ithaca's champion Parley Hannan. Corcoran's Blue Knights finished 10th. Williams' Eva Borton won the NY States Class C race last year, and this year as an Ephs' frosh she finished 22nd to lead her team to a 3rd place. Maggie Bond got a top 50 finish to lead RPI to 13th place. Other NY runners who ran for scoring places on top-10 squads included Lauren Pollak who was the fourth runner in for 8th place Tufts, and Emma Johnston was the fourth runner for 9th place Dickinson. Kayla Murawski was running solo for DeSales as an at-large selection, but she nailed down a top-75 place. Among the other NY-based schools at the meet, Rochester finished 18th with Jordan Hurlbut as one of the Yellowjackets' top 2, Vassar was 25th, Ithaca 26th, and RIT was 30th led by Hannah Weppner.