Goodwin Leads Cross-Country Hawks To Win

ANNANDALE — Freshman Phillip Goodwin took first place and three others placed in the top 10 as New Paltz won the men’s team title at the Bard Cross-Country Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

The women, meanwhile, took second as a team, behind strong finishes by Cheryl Yanek (fifth, 22:17) and Crista Szymanski (10th, 23:15).

Goodwin, a Rochester native, finished the 8K course in 28:00 for his first collegiate victory.

“He went out smart, then started picking people off and emerged from the woods at the 5K mark in the lead,” New Paltz Head Coach Brett Willmott said of Goodwin. “This was the first time (because of injuries) we’ve run complete and we won it. We put four guys in front of Hunter’s (the second-place team) third guy.”

Other finishers for the men were Matt Brown (third, 29:18), Corey Crawford (fourth, 29:37), Kevin Harrison (sixth, 30:06), Shaun Roth (11th, 31:34) and Stephen Conroy (20th, 34:51). Other finishers for the women included Dawson Gerhardt (11th, 23:38), Erica Peterson (14th, 23:56), Sara Dickinson (17th, 24:19) and Alison Tracy (18th, 24:25).

“I’m excited about the future,” Willmott said. “We’re getting into the heart of our season, with SUNYAC’s three weeks away. We’re gearing up.”

New Paltz is at the Williams College Fall Frolic next Saturday. The women’s race begins at 1 p.m., while the men’s race starts at 1:45 p.m.