With two first-place finishes at the Inter-Regional Rumble held at Oberlin College on Oct. 18, the Geneseo men’s and women’s cross country teams are going to take a well-deserved break before they head into the rough part of their season. With another first place overall finish from senior Cassie Goodman, the women’s team had solid races from all of their top finishers—the Knights top seven runners all came in the top 23. Behind Goodman were sophomore Marissa Bellusci and juniors Ashton Hughes, Jacquie Huben and Rayanne Luke.
The men also had a successful day, with senior Cohen Miles-Rath finishing first for the Knights, 12th overall. The rest of the men’s top five runners all came within 20 places of each other. Behind Miles-Rath were sophomore Alfredo Mazzuca, junior Brendan Wortner, freshman Alex Burks and sophomore Adam Murphy.
With nationals fast-approaching, the Knights are in fantastic position in the regional rankings—first overall. Geneseo has not won a regional title since 2010. The women are also in great position, ranked second in the region.
Some of the teams that are ranked behind the men had good performances over the weekend of Oct. 18. Given the slippery conditions that were present at the course, the men and women should both remain where they are.
“The conditions were truly terrible,” head coach Mike Woods said. “It was real bad and it slowed some people down, but others definitely stepped up.” With the conditions feeling like a mud pit at Oberlin, the Knights powered through and gave strong performances.
With both teams winning on Oct. 18, they now have the weekend of Saturday Oct. 25 off before heading back to work on Nov. 1 for the SUNYAC Championships at SUNY Brockport. The cross country teams can now take this time off to buckle down and get ready for the SUNYAC championships that are ahead of them.
With the leadership of runners like Goodman, senior Keira Wood, Miles-Rath and senior Tim Mateer, these runners have given the Knights guidance throughout the season. They will need to continue their leadership throughout the remainder of what could be a tough schedule for the Knights. Even though the teams both look to be in good position, they can’t afford to let their guard down now when their goals are within sight.