The men’s and women’s cross-country teams traveled to the Buffalo State Invitational this past Saturday, both finishing in second behind Edinboro University.
The second place finish, however, was more of a tuneup than a season opener, as head coach Mike Woods held most of his experienced runners out of the race.
“We never run our best team there,” Woods said. “We won’t really run until Sept. 17 at Penn State.”
Over the years, the Geneseo program has become known as a perennial podium threat. Last season, however, the women saw their streak of 10 straight SUNYAC titles snapped by SUNY Cortland. The men, who finished seventh at the NCAA national tournament, lost some key seniors.
But that sure doesn’t change expectations; this is Geneseo cross-country, after all.
“Our goals tend to be the same every year: we want to win the SUNYAC and we have two teams that can win the SUNYAC,” Woods said. “Then we want to get to the NCAA’s and do well.”
Given the competition, the men may have an easier time at accomplishing those goals, and, according to Woods, might even have a legitimate shot at an NCAA championship – if they can find a way to replace a couple of key losses.
“We lost some great runners in Lee Gabler, Billy Juda and Ryan O’Connor,” Woods said. “Those three guys were the staple of the program for four years but we have great depth and we have people that will step up and take their spots.”
All-American senior Lee Berube will lead the talented men’s squad with his sights set on individual as well as team titles on the conference, regional and national levels.
“Lee Berube is Lee Berube,” Woods said. “He is going to go out there and have a chance to win every race that he’s in, including the NCAA’s.”
Seniors Eddie Novara, Mark Streb and Chris Carter along with junior Thomas Clark and sophomore Patrick Wortner will all be in the mix for the men who plan to turn heads against Division I competition at the Penn State Invitational next weekend.
A talented group of freshmen, highlighted by Billy Gabriel, Ryan Moynihan and Tim Mateer could also play a major role in deciding the team’s future.
On the women’s side, it looks as if All-American junior Marissa Liberati will now have company atop the leader board in senior Alyssa Smith.
“She’s in real good shape, very strong,” Woods said of Smith. “Both [Liberati and Smith] are top-10 finishers at the NCAA’s without a doubt – if they’re healthy.”
How far the women go may depend less on their star duo, however, and more on the rest of their roster.
“We have a core five on the women’s team that is going to make or break our season,” Woods said. That five includes juniors Emily Sullivan, Danae Polsin, Brigid Heenan, Esther Lok and senior Ashley Jones.
“They all have had really good training summers and are ready to go,” Woods said.
Freshman Cassie Goodman, who finished second overall at Buffalo State, has also impressed the coaching staff and could take on a more important team role.
“Look out for Cassie Goodman; what an attitude she has,” Woods said. “She has one of the best attitudes I’ve ever brought in here … This girl is in absolute love with running. I love to see that.”
The Knights travel to Penn State on Saturday Sept. 17.