Race Results (PDF)
GENEVA, NY (October 30, 2010) – The Vassar College men's cross country team had three runners finish before rival RPI could place its first, and with three runners placing among the top 15, the Brewers finished second overall at the Liberty League Championships at Hobart/William Smith, the team's best performance since 2004.
St. Lawrence, ranked No. 6 nationally captured the team title with 15 points followed by Vassar with 61 points. RPI finished in third (79), Clarkson fourth (94), Union fifth (150) and Hobart sixth (183).
With a seventh place overall finish, junior Zack Williams earned First Team All-Liberty League. Two other Vassar runners, sophomore
Sam Wagner and junior
Justin Rupert finished among the top 14 and were named Second Team All-Liberty League.
Williams finished the 8k championship race in 26:44, followed by Wagner in eighth place (26:51) and Rupert in 11th place (26:54). There were 83 runners in the race.
“We wanted to break up St. Lawrence by placing a runner in the top five,” said head coach
James McCowan. “While we didn't accomplish that goal, we did have three runners finish before RPI's first runner and then followed with our fourth finisher (junior
Will Healy) and that made for a big day for our men's team.”
McCowan said his vastly improving team wanted to clip away at an RPI team that is ranked No. 9 in the region. The Brewers were successful in breaking up the thick pack of close knit RPI runners, led by the outstanding efforts of Williams, Wagner and Rupert.
“Zack did a wonderful job of leading the way for the team,” said McCowan. “This was the type of race we've been waiting for from him all season.
Healy, who was Vassar's fourth overall finisher and 17th overall, clocked in at 27:20. Junior
Evan Russek was 30th overall (27:59) and ran “very well” according to McCowan. Senior
Jon Erickson, who was making his season debut after coming off injury, finished 33rd overall (28:10) and junior
Roni Teich was 35th in 28:21.
McCowan said the windy conditions and a course that was soft and muddy, kept times slower than normal, but it didn't deter from a gutsy team effort, particularly from Erickson who battled back all Fall to compete in the league championships.
“Given RPI was ranked No. 9 in the region, our performance gives our men a good shop of breaking into the top ten,” said McCowan. “It was a very exciting day for our team.”
Vassar will next compete at the NCAA Atlantic Regionals on November 13.
