One race – that’s the only obstacle now standing in the way of the men and women’s cross-country teams and a national title.
Granted, it’s an important race. After considering how well the two teams performed at the NCAA Atlantic Region championships at Oneonta this past weekend, though, a national championship is no longer just a dream but a real possibility.
The men, led by junior Lee Berube, continued their streak of perfection on Saturday, winning the race outright over St. Lawrence University. Berube won the individual title, outdueling Plattsburgh’s Mike Heymann for a second straight race with a time of 24 minutes, 27 seconds.
“He [Berube] ran an outstanding, smart [and] gutty race,” said head coach Mike Woods. “When he was hurting the most he dipped into the tank and used another gear.”
Berube has distinguished himself as the best runner not only in the region – or perhaps even the nation – for Division III cross-country, but also in Geneseo history.
“Only time will tell if Lee [Berube] is the best ever but he certainly looks like it,” Woods said. “He’s as legitimate a runner as I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot of great ones.”
No matter how great of a runner Berube is or will be, however, the Knights’ national title aspirations do not rest on his shoulders only. That honor – or burden – falls on the team’s No. 4 and 5 runners, seniors Lee Gabler and Bill Juda.
“I think our front three can run with anybody in the country, but it’s our four [and] five guys … if we’re going to [win a national title] they’ve got to do it for us,” Woods said.
“[Gabler and Juda] have to go to the next level and that’s a lot to ask of them but I think they believe they’ll do it,” Woods said. “I think they both believe that they have more in the tank and a national championship will bring it out in them.”
The road to a national title might be a little more strenuous for the women, but it’s not out of reach. The women impressed at regionals, finishing second only to St. Lawrence and beating SUNY Cortland; the Red Dragons had previously edged them out at the SUNYAC championship.
“It was a total reversal of what they did at the SUNYACs,” Woods said. “During the two weeks [in between races] I really stressed to them how they had to go out and run [the regional] race, which was to go out hard and hang on at the end … and that’s exactly what they did.”
Sophomore Marissa Liberati finished strongly and paced the Knights, finishing second overall and setting them up for yet another NCAA tournament bid.
“We were bound and determined,” Woods noted. “I said if we don’t do anything else, we’re going to close [the race] like women possessed and they did.”
This year marked the 12th consecutive NCAA tournament berth for the women and the eighth straight for the men. “It’s lonely at the top but there isn’t another school in the Atlantic Region that’s done what we have done,” Woods said.
“This is clearly the best team Geneseo has ever had and I don’t even need to see them run at the NCAA tournament,” he said about the men.
“I tell them all the time, the hay is in the barn,” Woods said. “They’ve done the work … They’ve done it the right way and hopefully they can just go out there, relax and be what they need to be.”
Which, of course, would be national champions.