2009 Cross Country Season Recap

The SUNY New Paltz cross country team had a successful season having two runners break school records and winning the Bard Invitational and finishing second at the Vassar Invitational.

On the men’s side, Joe Gentsch (Staten Island/Curtis) established the Hawks presence as he won the Mount St. Mary College 5K dual meet with a time of 16:17. Gentsch was the first Hawk to ever win the invite. The Hawks finished second at the Vassar Invite propelled by Gentsch who won the race with a time of 20:25. At the Bard Invitational Gentsch won his third race of the season, as the Hawks had four runners finishing in the top ten. Robert Grazier (West Islip), Shawn Gannon (Poughkeepsie/Ketcham) and Jeffery Raab (Ocean City, NJ) finished sixth, seventh and ninth leading the Hawks to the victory. At the Albany Invite Gentsch set a school record in the 8k with a time of 25:29 finishing in 16th place. The men finished in 21st out of 24 teams. The Hawks finished ahead of one Division I program in the race.

On the women’s side, Danielle Harmon (Pearl River) led the Hawks with her consistent times throughout the season. Harmon and Nikki McCarthy (Wallkill) finished in a tie for first with a time of 20:02 at the 5K Mount St. Mary dual meet. Harmon and McCarthy set a record for sixth all-time in school history. At the Vassar Invite Harmon finished second with a time of 20:26. At the Bard Invitational Harmon won her second race of the year with a time of 20:14, which was 16 seconds faster than second place. Chanelle Santilli (Fishkill/John Jay) and Lisa Cassaro (West Islip) finished third and fourth with Nichole Wischoff (Cooperstown) finishing in the eighth position for the Hawks to round out the top ten. At the Albany Invite Harmon set a school record in the 5k with a time of 19:05 finishing in 61st place. The women finished 16th out of 24 teams. The Hawks finished ahead of several Division I programs in the race.