The Plattsburgh State cross country team continued its strong season at Connecticut College last weekend.
The women finished 7th out of 21 teams while the men took 10th out of 20.
Head coach Andrew Krug was happy with his team’s performance at a meet with less than desirable conditions.
“We had some sloppy conditions, the course was pretty wet the day we ran,” Krug said. “Knowing we were right there with some nationally and regionally ranked teams feels good.”
The men saw sophomore Mitchell Marlow finish first for the fifth meet in a row. The next six of the men’s top seven all finished in a tight pack between 82nd and 100th place. The group included juniors John Weed, William Lindau, Matt Jenkins and Stephen Schnalzer, and freshmen Andrew and Arthur Horan.
Schnalzer was glad that the team finished well enough as a group but didn’t want to use the conditions as an excuse.
“The conditions come into effect when it comes to personal times, but every team has to deal with it so you can’t use it as an excuse in the overall competition,” Schnalzer said.
The women moved down from 6th to 7th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Atlantic Regional Rankings, but remain one of only three SUNY teams in the top 10.
Leading the way for the women for the third time out of five meets was freshman Jasmine Roberts.
“It’s been cool to be up in the rankings, and to be a big part of it as a freshmen has been awesome,” Roberts said. “We’re very happy with the success we’ve been having.”
Rounding out the women’s top seven finishers was senior Lindsey Davenport, junior Hannah Despres, sophomores Samantha Mosca and Elysha O’Connell, and freshmen Mikayla Anderson and Jackie Corbett.
“We wanted to beat New Paltz, but they were at the top of their game last weekend,” Roberts said. “We’re hoping to come back strong for SUNYACs and beat them there.”
The Cardinals once again have a week off before their next meet, with SUNYACs taking place Oct. 28.
“We’re focusing on controlling the controllables (sic),” Krug said. “We’re just fine-tuning with a few different workouts, but the weekend off allows for some nice recovery time before the big race two Saturdays from now.”
Schnalzer is confident that his team will be ready.
“I could not be more confident. Everybody is on-board, and they have been all season. It’s a completely different atmosphere than we’ve ever had before, and everybody is super focused on what we need to do.”
Email Ben Watson at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
