It was a SUNYAC tournament of mixed emotions for the Plattsburgh State cross country team last weekend.
The women took second place out of 10 teams in the tournament, moving up three spots from last season and jumping the No. 6 ranked New Paltz.
“We just ran a better race this week than they did,” head coach Andrew Krug said. “It was a great way to finish off the SUNYAC season given the fact that we’ve felt like the women could have finished better the last few years.”
Freshman Jasmine Roberts finished first for the Cardinals in sixth overall with senior Lindsey Davenport coming close behind in 12th. They were followed by freshmen Mikayla Anderson and Jackie Corbett, junior Hannah Despres, and sophomores Samantha Mosca and Elysha O’Connell.
Davenport said she was proud of her team for coming through.
“All season we’ve been aiming for that second place finish,” Davenport said. “We’ve been going back and forth with New Paltz all season, but we came up on top when it mattered most.”
Davenport and Roberts both received All-SUNYAC honors, with Roberts receiving second-team honors, and Davenport receiving third-team.
Davenport said she was glad to earn the honor on her last shot.
“It means a lot,” Davenport said. “Going into the race as a senior, it was hard to deal with it being my last SUNYAC. That was my goal, and I accomplished it.”
Though Davenport will soon be finishing her cross country career, Krug remarked that the women will be in good hands with the freshmen core of Roberts, Anderson and Corbett returning.
“It’s awesome that we’re still going to have them for a few more years,” Krug said. “They’re critical pieces in our top group and to how we did this season.”
The other side of the team was not in quite as high spirits.
The men finished sixth out of 10 teams, jumping up a spot from their finish last year.
Despite the jump, Krug thought that they left room for improvement.
“We’re certainly disappointed with the sixth place finish,” Krug said. “We knew that anywhere from third to seventh place was up for grabs, so this one will stick with us for a while.”
Sophomore transfer Mitchell Marlow once again was PSUC’s top finisher for the men, while earning Third-Team All-SUNYAC honors. Behind him were juniors Matt Jenkins and Stephen Schnalzer, followed by freshman Arthur Horan, junior William Lindau, freshman Anthony Erno and junior John Weed.
Marlow agreed with his coach about the team’s finish, despite his strong personal time.
“We were all disappointed in the finish,” Marlow said. “It’s great that we did a bit better than last year, but we’ll be hoping for more next year. That’s all we can really say at this point.”
Krug praised Marlow for his performance over the season and the honor he received.
“Saturday, he rose to the occasion again,” Krug said. “We didn’t have anyone in All-SUNYAC last year, so it was good to get somebody back in the top 15.”
“I was pretty happy with it,” Marlow said. “I’m new to the SUNYACs so it was good to get this early.”
Next, the Cards shift focus to the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Championships Saturday Nov. 11 in Houghton, N.Y. PSUC will have a weekend off before the meet.
The smaller group of runners is looking to finish strong in a meet that will be filled with skilled teams.
“We’re just looking to maintain where we’re at, at this point,” Krug said. “It’s a big meet that will hopefully be the icing on the cake of our season.”
Email Ben Watson at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
