The Geneseo men’s and women’s indoor track teams will kick off their respective seasons on Saturday Dec. 1 at the Cornell Relays.
Head coach Dave Prevosti, in his ninth year leading both squads, leads a team with a mix of youth and experience as the Knights fight to stay atop the SUNYAC indoor track scene.
On the women’s side, 22 new faces complement the returning talent. Although senior Marissa Liberati is taking this year off after collecting the 3,000-meter title and mile runner-up at the SUNYAC meet, there is plenty of talent from a team that finished third at the conference meet.
In the 800-meter race, senior Cailin Kowalewski, graduate student Alyssa Smith and sophomore Keira Wood comprise a trio that Prevosti described as “stellar” and “absolutely dominating.” Kowalewski and Wood dominated the event in meets last year, with the former placing 13th at the NCAA Division III meet and the latter taking second at the SUNYAC meet. Smith didn’t run indoor track last year, but had a successful cross-country season in which she finished 65th at the Division III championship.
In terms of newcomers, Prevosti said, “[Freshman] Kylie Ryan is going to be solid too – [she is a] really capable 400 runner.”
Although the men’s squad loses standouts like Lee Berube ’12 and classmates Wenley Louis and Eddie Novara, the defending SUNYAC champions return talent to warrant notice from other teams. Senior Chris Carter “is going to be a machine in the 800 meter and the mile,” Prevosti said.
Other distance runners to watch include first-year Cohen Miles-Rath, who Prevosti said was a “great pickup.” Freshmen Alex Hahn, Nick Posimato and Brendan Wortner round out the new group of runners.
Sophomores Phil Longo and Luke Taverne return after claiming second place last year in the high jump at the SUNYAC meet and with the addition of talented freshman Adrian Bergere, the Knights produce a dominant trio in that event.
Despite the lack of an indoor track on campus, the team will not have to travel far for all of its meets. Geneseo will race twice at SUNY Brockport and twice at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Prevosti says that the goals for both teams include winning the SUNYAC meet, qualifying a number of athletes for the ECAC meet and sending a handful to the NCAA Division III meet as well.