A pair of all-conference runners led Fredonia to its best finish in nearly 20 years at the SUNYAC Men's Cross Country championship race Saturday.
Kyle Collins (Suffern) finished fourth and Collin Mulcahy (Batavia) was 10th, followed by junior Cody Martini (Palmyra), freshman Joe Northup (Waterloo, N.Y.), and sophomore Merlin Joseph Jr. (Binghamton). Deplacement runners were junior Bobby Cooper (Macedon, N.Y.) and freshman Ethan Francis (Dunkirk).
Together the men earned 86 points to edge Oneonta for second place. Pre-race favorite and nationally ranked Geneseo won the meet.
It was Fredonia's best team finish since 1998, a year the Blue Devils also finished second. They also finished second in 1997. The 1992 team was the last to win the SUNYAC title.
Collins covered Plattsburgh's 8,000-meter course in 25:13. His fourth-place finish earned First Team All-SUNYAC as well as a place in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame. He is the 30th Fredonia men's cross country runner to make the Hall.
Mulcahy finished 10th overall – and made Second Team All-SUNYAC – in a time of 25:27. He is a past SUNYAC champion in the 1,500-meters at the 2014 Indoor Track and Field championship meet.
In addition to the top seven runners, Fredonia was represented by sophomore Charles Loiacano (Lockport), senior Casey Swartz (Horseheads), senior Alex Crise (Fredonia), freshman Cyd Scott (Carmel, N.Y.), freshman Eric Doud (Elmira), and junior Kevin Nickerson (Byron).
The top seven runners will be chosen to run at the NCAA Atlantic Regional on Nov. 14 at Letchworth State Park.
Fredonia also earned two more points – four on the day, including two by the Blue Devil women – to take the lead over Buffalo State, 7-5, in the Battle ByThe Lake competition.
On the women’s side, Fredonia senior Laura Morrison (Wethersfield, Conn.) finished sixth overall at the 2015 SUNYAC Women's Cross Country championship race.
She led the Blue Devils to a fourth-place finish in the 10-team standings and earned Fredonia two points in the Battle of Lake Erie competition with Buffalo State. It was Fredonia's highest finish in the SUNYAC race since a second-place finish in 2006.
A first-year cross country participant at Fredonia, Morrison covered the 6,000-meter Plattsburgh course in 22:13.4. That earned her a spot on the SUNYAC Second Team.
Lauren Kotas (Lancaster, N.Y.), a senior, was second for Fredonia -- 20th overall -- with a a 22:57.3 clocking. She was followed by junior Bonnie Binggeli (Walworth, N.Y.), freshman Hannah Kurbs (Lockport, N.Y.), and junior Julia Johnson (Baldwinsville). Fredonia's two displacement runners were freshman Stephanie Wojnowski (Rochester, N.Y.) and junior Kara Hall (Bergen, N.Y.).
Also competing for Fredonia were freshman Carly Debono (Medford, N.Y.), freshman Emily Maguire (Oakdale), freshman Brenna Donovan (Youngstown, N.Y.), junior Alyssa Stroud (Allegany, N.Y.), sophomore Maddie Courtney (Getzville), freshman Kristen Guarino (Bergen), and junior Kelly Vincent (Randolph).
The women Blue Devils also have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Atlantic Regional at Letchworth State Park. Seven runners will be chosen to represent the team at that meet.
