Men and Women Cross Country Finish 7th at SUNYACs; Gentsch and Cassaro Lead the Hawks

The men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled the 2008 SUNYAC Cross Country Championships held at Letchworth State Park. Both teams finished seventh out of ten teams. Cortland won the men’s title and Geneseo claimed the women’s title.

On the men’s side, sophomore Joe Gentsch led the Hawks with a 27th place finish out of a field of 125 runners in a time of 26:33, improving his personal best by 23 seconds. Gentsch’s time is the third best in New Paltz history. Junior Nick Avello finished in 27:40 and first year Mike Zelensky crossed the finish line 71st in 28:19. Rounding out the top five were Kevin Snyder in 28:35 and Dexter Larsen in 29:01. Snyder shaved 1:21 off his personal best 8K time this season.

“A year ago the men had two runners finish under 29 minutes, so to have the top five all at 29 minutes an under is a testament to the team and the hard work they have put in,” stated Head Coach Mike Trunkes.

The women’s team was led by junior Lisa Cassaro who broke the 23 minute mark, setting a new school record in the 6K for a New Paltz runner. Cassaro finished 33rd out of a field of 103 runners in a time of 23:56. She broke Janet Walsh’s mark from 2004 at the NCAA regionals of 24:24.  Sophomore Danielle Harmon finished 50th in 24:49 and Olga Stulov crossed in 25:35. First year Kristina Rolla was six seconds behind Stulov in 25:41 and completing the scoring five was Sara Wenger in 26:07.

“Lisa ran and outstanding race for us and she was flying. She has trained really hard all season and deserves to hold the fastest time in New Paltz history,” stated Trunkes.

Both teams will return to action on Saturday November 15th when they travel to St. Lawrence for the NCAA Regional meet.