With the weekend behind them, the Geneseo men’s and women’s cross country teams can look ahead to an excellent remainder of their season thanks to their stellar finishes on Saturday Sept. 27 at the Pre-NCAA meet in Mason, Ohio. Both teams had top-two finishes, with the women winning their race and the men coming in second place. The women’s team finished with two runners placing first and second––seniors Cassie Goodman and Alyssa Knott––while also placing seven total runners in the top 20. The men’s team had one top-five finisher with senior Cohen Miles-Rath placing fifth. The team as a whole ended up with five of the top 32 runners.
The only option that the Knights have now is to maintain the level of excellence that they have had throughout the entire season. The teams are in a great position largely due to that fact that some of their runners had unbelievable race times. Miles-Rath completed the eight-kilometer race with a time of 24:02.62, helping the Knights hold on to their victory. Goodman and Knott were the first two finishers of the women’s six-kilometer competition, finishing in under 21:12.00.
“They put themselves on the map. They ran the best races of their lives and they answered the bell,” head coach Mike Woods said.
Now in good standing, the Knights can look ahead to Saturday Oct. 4 when they host the Geneseo Invitational at Letchworth State Park. The competition looks stiff; teams including Dickinson College pose a real threat to the Knights’ goal for victory.
“I don’t think that I need to stress this one as much; the athletes seem to know what’s at stake,” Woods said.
After Saturday, things start to cool down for the Knights. They will have two weeks off before going back to work on Oct. 18 at the Inter-Regional Rumble in Oberlin, Ohio. The two weeks off should be a welcome rest for both teams, who will have had six races in the past four weeks. It will give them the time that they need to recover from injuries and take a break from the mid-season grind.
Although the Geneseo cross country teams have made this season look relatively easy so far, they have had a difficult season. Anytime that you finish first or second at the Pre-NCAAs, your team is going to be a bit tired the next weekend. The Knights are going to have to overcome their fatigue if they plan on winning this coming meet, something on the top of their to-do list.