Women 18th, Men 29th At Regionals
Men's Results | Women's Results
BRONX, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Northeast Regional Championship on Friday in Van Cortlandt Park, the second time this season the Great Danes had run there. The men placed 29th overall as a team and the women placed 18th.
The women's 6K race kicked off the day's proceedings. The race featured 40 scoring teams comprised of 275 runners. Senior Silvia Del Fava led the way for UAlbany, placing 20th overall in 20:56.61. Del Fava had aspirations of qualifying for the national championship as an individual for the second consecutive year, but presumably finished too far back to earn an automatic or at-large bid. However, by virtue of finishing within the top 25, Del Fava earned All-Region honors.
Valentina Talevi finished second for UAlbany, placing 67th in 21:42.63. Molly Pezzulo finished 70th in 21:44.51. Schuyler Pruyn and Colleen Maloney were UAlbany's final scoring athletes, finishing 211th in 23:47.80 and 227th in 24:08.71 respectively. UAlbany's tiebreakers were Chinira Lovick, who placed 231st in 24:12.65, and Kasia Geiger, who finished 263rd in 25:23.31.
Iona won the team title, scoring 91 points on their home course. Iona also swept the top two individual places, with Kate Avery winning the race in 19:49.45 and Rosie Clarke placing second in 20:12.84. Providence placed second as a team with 128 points. Dartmouth placed third with 136 points, and Syracuse was fourth with 154 points. UAlbany scored 591 points in 18th place.
By virtue of finishing in the top two, Iona and Providence earned automatic team bids for the national championship. Dartmouth and Syracuse will remain in contention for at-large bids until selections are announced on Saturday. After the team bids have been decided, the top four individuals not on qualifying teams will earn automatic bids. Del Fava sits outside the top 10 individuals when accounting for automatic and presumed team qualifiers.
The men's 10K race followed the women's race. It was the first time the men had run a distance other than 8K all year. The race featured 39 scoring teams comprised of 262 runners. Senior Chris Buchanan led the way for the Great Danes, placing 122nd with a time of 32:29.89. In fact, UAlbany's top three finishers were clustered closely together. Buchanan was followed by freshmen teammates Kyle Gronostaj and Tyler Ranke, who finished 132nd in 32:41.79 and 139th in 32:50.19 respectively.
Keith Machabee placed 221st in 34:12.36, and Jonathan Moore placed 230th in 34:22.34 to round out UAlbany's scoring athletes. UAlbany's tiebreakers were Peter Schweitzer, who finished 235th in 34:41.79, and Jordan Healy, who finished 250th in 35:42.83.
Syracuse narrowly won the men's team title with 45 points. The Orange saw its top four athletes sweep spots six through nine. Providence placed second as a team with 48 points, placing three runners in the top five. Iona placed third with 60 points, and, like the women's side, fielded the individual champion. Jake Byrne won the race on his home course in 30:26.12, edging second place by three seconds. Columbia placed fourth as a team with 126 points. UAlbany scored 844 points in 29th 844 points in 29th place.
Indoor track now looms on the horizon for the Great Danes. Indoor will feature a soft opening with the RACC Classic Intrasquad Scrimmage and a trip to Lehigh, both of which will take place in the first weekend of December. The indoor season officially begins in January with a trip to Penn State.
