LINKS: NAC CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM | WOMEN'S RACE LIVE VIDEO | MEN'S RACE LIVE VIDEO | CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTATION LIVE VIDEO
WATERVILLE, N.Y. (October 28, 2021) - The SUNY Delhi women's and men's cross country teams head up to Thomas College this Saturday for the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championships in hopes of both repeating as league champs. Their last conference title-chase took place all the way back in 2019, with just a handful of those championship runners making the return trip this weekend. Both programs were ranked second in the conference pre-championship poll, with the men behind SUNY Cobleskill and the women slotted after Husson.
Links to the cross country championships are found above via the NAC's championship program, including the pre-championship poll. Portions of the race will be live streamed, weather permitting, along with the championship presentation. The NAC women's race is a 5K, Dehi's fifth such race of the season, while the men will run their third 8K of the year for their championship quest.
COACHES PREVIEWS...
"I think we are in a really good spot right now. A good last few weeks of training and getting more mentally prepared for this weekend. It's going to be a tough competition for both men and women, but I have confidence in our groups to show up and compete at a high level this Saturday." - Head Coach Zach Brown
"Really happy with where everyone is at right now. We had a really solid last two weeks of training. Should be a really good meet for everyone this weekend." - Coach Ben Finnigan
THE MEN...
The SUNY Delhi men's cross country team looks to repeat as league champions after winning their inaugural NAC championship back in 2019. Cutting is the lone entry from that squad entering this year's title race, where he finished as Delhi's fifth finisher for eighth place overall at 31:02.5. Through two 8K races this season, he ran a time of 27:44.3 at SUNY Geneseo on Oct. 2 and 27:33.3 at UAlbany on Oct. 15. Seth Bywater, who was a freshman on the 2019, will make his NAC championship debut, looking to bring the competitiveness that earned him a team-best time of 26:14.9 at Geneseo, while clocking in a 27:02.1 time at UAlbany. Another key addition is sophomore John Amenta, who ran respective times of 26:29.7 and 26:34.0 at Geneseo and UAlbany, finishing 13th in the latter to lead the Broncos to a fourth-place finish in a field of NCAA Division I and II competition.
Lewis Race is another key piece to the program, running 28:05.0 at SUNY Geneseo and 28:38.4 at UAlbany. His three 6K finishes of the season timed in between 20:51.2 and 21:47.5.
THE WOMEN...
The SUNY Delhi women's cross country team return four runners from their last NAC triumph in 2019, including the team's highest finisher Sophie Stewart. The conference's third-place finisher from 2019 logged a season-best 5K time of 21:13.6 at UAlbany on Oct. 15, and additionally ran 27:13.0 in the team's lone 6K race of the regular season at SUNY Geneseo on Oct. 2. Senior Katerina Salcedo earned NAC Runner of the Week after posting team-best 4K times of 17:31.80 at Hartwick on Sept. 1 and 17:00.3 at Le Moyne Sept. 4. Her best 5K time of the season came at the UAlbany, clocking in at 21:13.6 for a team-best showing. Mary Lyons and Shyanne Lawton are the final two returners from that championship squad, their best season times both occurring at SUNY Oneonta with 21:42.0 and 22:38.2 respective times.
Freshman Kristina Messler earned NAC Rookie of the Week running 4K times of 18:25.34 at Hartwick and 17:09.9 at Le Moyne. The following week she swept both NAC Runner and Rookie of the Week when she clocked in a team-leading 21:44.9 at the Vassar 5K on Sept. 11. She then bettered that time the following week at SUNY Oneonta, finishing in a time of 21:41.5.
