GENESEO, N.Y. (November 13, 2021) – The SUNY Delhi men's cross country squad accomplished more than just a 12th-place finish at their first NCAA Niagara Region Championship in school history Saturday at SUNY Geneseo. Lead man Seth Bywater's (Cornwall, NY / Cornwall Central) 13th-place time of 25:46.7, a career best, punched him a ticket to next weekend's NCAA Div. III National Championships, becoming SUNY Delhi's first-ever NCAA national qualifier. This is the college's first year as full-time NCAA Division III members.
Bywater held a steady pace on the 8K Warplane Museum course to gather All-Region honors, as did John Amenta, who steadily rose up the ranks to finish 28th in a time of 26:12.4. Aidan Cutting placed 55th with a time of 27:00.4, while Lewis Race took 82nd at 27:49.4. Sam Lees rounded out the scoring as Delhi's fifth finisher in 109thth at 28:52.7, while Caleb Jeralds placed 127th at 29:30.4 and Aidar Matthews 128th at 29:34.3
Host SUNY Geneseo won the regional championship with a commanding 28 points, placing seven in the top 12. Bywater was the sixth of the seven at-large individual finalists to clinch a national spot. The Broncos finished with 279 points.
"I am so happy for Seth," said Head Coach Zach Brown. "He ran an incredible race from the start. He knew what he had to do today to punch his ticket and he was locked in the whole race, with a final push to solidify his position. John Amenta had a tremendous race and ran a personal best as well. Coach Finnigan and I are thrilled with how everyone raced overall, a ton of personal bests and great team finishes. It was a great first NCAA Regional Championship." When asked about his national placement, Bywater jokingly quipped, "Did I make it?"
The NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships take place Saturday, Nov. 20 in Louisville, Ky. at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. It is hosted by the Louisville Sports Commission and Spalding University. The finals will be streamed live on NCAA.com beginning at 11 a.m. ET for the men's race and 12 p.m. ET for the women's race.
