Cross country closes out the year with mixed success
Richard Decker
Staff Writer
The Vikings Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams have trained effortlessly to improve their showings at conference and invitational meets as runners dominate their personal records, placing inside the Top-5 on multiple occasions throughout the season.
The start of the competition season began in September with the Vikings posting a ‘N/a’ for team results at the SUNY Poly Short Course Invitational, running with only four women and one man.
The teams began to gain their footing the following week, as the men placed fifth in the SUNY Morrisville Mustang Invitational with three Vikings finishing in the Top-30.
The women’s team had four athletes compete, with freshman Sarah Rosenberger, a liberal arts major, earning the best team finish twice in a row, with a time of 27:58, in the 6k race.
The teams saw improved performances at the Herkimer Invitational, with the men claiming their first team win, taking the gold, as the Top-5 scorers finished inside the Top-15.
Subri Ismail finished fourth, crossing the finish line in 23:36, freshman computer information systems major Ryan Moon finished fifth with a time of 24:00 and freshman exercise science major Anton Conto finished in sixth place with a time of 24:25.
Parker Swierzewski, a freshman computer information systems major, crossed the finish line 13th, with a time of 26:46, as the Vikings final scorer.
Although the women’s team did not have a full team to compete for a team score, three runners finished inside the Top-10 at Herkimer. Rosenberger placed second overall with a time of 23:08. Mercedes Planavsky, a freshman criminal justice major, followed her as she placed third with a time of 27:19.
Hayley Smith, the Vikings final runner, crossed the finish line in seventh place with a time of 26:26.
With the end of the season in sight, the Vikings competed in the Conference Meet held at SUNY Adirondack. The men’s team saw a slightly larger field of competition, as Mohawk Valley, Herkimer, Fulton Montgomery and SUNY Adirondack took to the line alongside the Vikings.
As the gun sounded, Mohawk Valley and Herkimer shot to the front of the pack, dominating the winner’s circle and placing first through fourth. However, the Viking’s training and determination persevered, and the men held their ground as a Viking’s pack with 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 15th place finishes, jumping Herkimer’s fast finish for second place.
The Lady Vikings did not have a full five-runner team to place. However, the women finished strong with Rosenburger placing 5th overall with a time of 22:44. Planavsky placed 8th with a time of 23:31 and Hayley Smith placed 12th at 24:55.
Hudson Valley then went onto Nationals, hosted by Holyoke Community College at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass.
The Men’s team placed 24th out of 29 teams. Holden Maynard, a freshman exercise science major, crossed the finish line with a time of 29:14, placing 64th. Conto placed 80th with a time of 29:50.
From the women’s team Rosenburger and Planavsky placed 38th and 54th overall with times of 21:44 and 22:30, respectively.