The Geneseo men’s and women’s cross-country teams showed out at the 2019 St. John Fisher Terry Rodenbeck Invitational on Friday Aug. 30. The men’s team competed in a six-kilometer competition while the women’s team participated in a four-kilometer race. Despite facing fierce competition, both teams came in first place.
The men’s squad held off second-place Rochester Institute of Technology, despite RIT’s Aleskei Bingham having the fastest running time at 19 minutes, 42.4 seconds. Led by freshmen runner Nick Andrews, who placed second amongst 100 competitors with a time of 19:53.0, Geneseo’s victory was assured through the team’s overall success as five of the top 11 runners were Knights.
Particularly impressive was the immediate impact of the team’s younger members, who are still trying to adjust to college life. Following first-year Nick Andrews, freshmen Henry Goca, Ezra Ruggles, Logan Linares and Zach Gauronski had the next leading times for Geneseo.
Linares gives a lot of credit to head coach Dan Moore, who has prepared them for these moments. “Coach Moore gives each athlete a very detailed summer training schedule with workouts and mileage to do over the summer,” Linares said.
While he is confident in the team and its potential, Linares acknowledged that there will be challenges along the way. “Cross- country is harder than a lot of sports. There’s no playoffs or pauses, it’s constant competition for three to over six miles,” he said.
Overcoming those challenges, however, is the most rewarding aspect of the sport. Linares believes that the team will grow stronger, faster and better together, which will benefit the athletes both individually and collectively.
There is no question that the men’s group has tremendous depth, with each runner having their own unique strengths and skillset. As a result of this, Knights fans shouldn’t be surprised if a large group of runners on the team have breakout performances throughout this season.
The same can be said for the women’s squad, which had numerous great showings during the four-kilometer competition. First-year Ciara Knott led the way for all runners, with a remarkable time of 15:11.9.
Once again RIT was Geneseo’s greatest obstacle to victory as they were only five points behind the Knights, making this meet a good early indicator of their ability to triumph in a close competition. RIT senior Hannah Weppner came in second and was followed by RIT sophomore Marian Draper.
Geneseo’s Knott, along with freshmen Tori Fears, Marcie Hogan and Rachel Hirshckind, and junior Roisin O’Neill, made up half of the top 10 running performances. Since the competition was so intense, each runner’s performance was pivotal to the team’s success.
Looking forward, the Knights will compete next at the Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational on Sept. 14. This year is already shaping up to be a captivating one for both cross-country squads; each team seems to be brimming with talent. This season is going to be something you won’t want to miss.