Geneseo, NY - In a region full of returning champions, old simmering rivalries and 3 of the top 10 ranked teams in division 3 cross country, the scene was certainly set for an exciting race at the 2009 Atlantic Regional, hosted by SUNY Geneseo at Letchworth State Park. Always a powerful region - one which produced the 2007 and 2008 NCAA championship men’s teams - the Atlantic region this year was no exception, featuring the returning individual national champion, Hamilton’s Peter Kosgei.
National champion aside, returning individual all-Americans Mike Heymann (SUNY Plattsburgh), Seth Dubois and Justin Wager (SUNY Cortland), and Zach Maher (NYU) added some extra fuel to an already hotly contested race. Team-wise the defending championship team from the 2008 NCAA Championship SUNY Cortland, ranked 4th in the national polls and SUNY Geneseo, ranked 3rd were pitted head to head again after the SUNY Geneseo Blue Knights had recently thrown down the gauntlet in a dominating conference win over the formerly 2nd ranked SUNY Cortland Red Dragons, 29-44.
As the sun began to rise on Saturday, it became quite clear that if nothing else, spectators would be in for quite the dramatic race, and that a course record (25:00.08 by Seth Dubois of SUNY Cortland, 2008) was almost definitely in the cards. Racers couldn’t have asked for better conditions as the morning mists began to burn off, revealing beneath the well packed and dry bed of grass and dirt that is so heavily favored by many runners. Not leaving anything to chance, defending champion Peter Kosgei took to the front almost immediately, setting the tempo with large pack of runners chomping at the bit just off his shoulder. A quick opening mile in the mid 4:40’s separated Kosgei and the rest of the top pack from their pursuers as they entered the downhill second mile of the course on the hard packed back trails of Letchworth state park.
As the runners funneled through the narrow trails, scantily clad men and women dressed in the boldest and gaudiest of outfits pressed against the edges of the trailway, their voices a nearly deafening cacophony as the athletes streamed by. In what has become an annual tradition – and a competition nearly as hotly contested as the team race itself – spectators from the opposing teams sported body paint, dyed hair and even chainmail and swords as they chanted back and forth across the course in support of their own athletes and to the hopeful detriment of those racing against them.
As the pack neared 2 miles, reaching the base of the nearly mile long climb that is the hallmark of the Letchworth course, Kosgei began to assert his dominance on the race, no longer content to simply lead, he began to accelerate away from his pursuers and in a matter of seconds, had marked the race as good as over. Yet while Kosgei continued in cruise control, the team battle was just shaping up as the top ranked teams began to stream up the hill behind the lead pack; their singlets flashing by in a blur as coaches tried in vain to count spots and run hastily conceived mathematical scenarios in an attempt to determine their current standings.
As voices yelled and coaches whispered to themselves, one thing became quite clear, NYU was out hard and had come to run, leading handily through the halfway point of the race as SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Cortland began to claw their own way back into the picture. Cortland, known for their front running hard nosed race approach, and Geneseo , for their tightly knit pack style racing were out of their elements and any preconceived notions of how the race would play out were clearly already out the window.
At three and a half miles, the runners crested the hill and although Kosgei continued to reign supreme at the front of the field, his hot pace from the gun was beginning to take its toll and Letchworth began to claim its casualties. Yet while some runners began to falter and break on the descent, runners from both Geneseo and Cortland found their legs anew and attacked with a renewed ferocity, pressing their way back to the fore of the race, gritting their teeth and steeling themselves against the pain as they battled for precious team points. The race surged through the trails again, spikes flying through the woods and the heavy panting of the runners seeming to almost echo off of the gorge walls as the athletes raced towards the final quarter mile. As Peter Kosgei (Hamilton) cruised nearly effortlessly across the finish line in 24:40, the remainder of the field strove to preserve spots and punish rivals as they crested the final hill and stretched their limbs towards the finishing banner.
Mike Heymann of Plattsburgh, considered by many to be a top contender for next week’s NCAA Championships survived the pace the best finishing 13 seconds behind Kosgei, closely followed by Zach Maher (NYU) in 24:56, all three besting the previous course record. Clearly after some redemption for their poor showing at their conference meet, the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons re-established themselves as a national power, winning 49-64 over second placer SUNY Geneseo. 2007 national champions NYU reasserted themselves, taking a clear cut third place with 79 points and the Rochester Institute of Technology surprised many local pundits with their hard-earned fourth place and 147 points to edge out nationally ranked St. Lawrence University (5th, 150 points).
Although no official releases have been made, it is a safe bet that the Atlantic Region will once again be sending a large contingent of teams to the national championships hosted by Baldwin Wallace College (Cleveland, OH) next weekend. With 3 teams ranked in the top 10 nationally and 5 ranked overall, next weekend should once again provide us with quite the show from the Atlantic Region and New York based runners.
Geneseo, NY - In a region full of returning champions, old simmering rivalries and 3 of the top 10 ranked teams in division 3 cross country, the scene was certainly set for an exciting race at the 2009 Atlantic Regional, hosted by SUNY Geneseo at Letchworth State Park. Always a powerful region - one which produced the 2007 and 2008 NCAA championship men’s teams - the Atlantic region this year was no exception, featuring the returning individual national champion, Hamilton’s Peter Kosgei.
National champion aside, returning individual all-Americans Mike Heymann (SUNY Plattsburgh), Seth Dubois and Justin Wager (SUNY Cortland), and Zach Maher (NYU) added some extra fuel to an already hotly contested race. Team-wise the defending championship team from the 2008 NCAA Championship SUNY Cortland, ranked 4th in the national polls and SUNY Geneseo, ranked 3rd were pitted head to head again after the SUNY Geneseo Blue Knights had recently thrown down the gauntlet in a dominating conference win over the formerly 2nd ranked SUNY Cortland Red Dragons, 29-44.
