Hawks Finish In Top 20 At ECAC Meet

NORTH GRAFTON, MASS. — The SUNY New Paltz Cross-Country teams both finished in the top 20 at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Championships hosted by Tufts University on Saturday at the well-known “Farm Course” in central Massachusetts.

The Hawk women were 17th among 35 teams, while the men – competing without their top runners, who are focusing on next week’s NCAA qualifier – were 19th among 33 teams.

Freshmen Rebecca Demeri (46th, 20:46) and Kristi Markwalter (95th, 21:38) led the New Paltz women. Alison Tracy (114th, 22:07), Crista Szymanski (124th, 22:38) and Dawson Gerhardt (169th, 24:11) also scored.

On the men’s side, Garrett Beers (88th place) finished the 8,000-meter course in 29:49. Greg Sautner (92nd, 30:01), Shaun Roth (94th, 30:03), Michael Dolce (103rd, 30:16), Kevin Harrison (139th, 31:09), Matt Gabriel (164th, 31:33) and Tom Lamontaro (192nd, 32:36) also finished.

New Paltz next competes at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region Meet, hosted by the University of Rochester at Genesee Valley Park, next Saturday. The men’s race is at 11 a.m., while the women’s race begins at 12 p.m.