The men’s and women’s cross country teams continued their annual dominance of the Empire 8 Conference by topping the field in the conference’s championship Oct. 29 at Hartwick College. The men’s team finished in first place with 30 points and the women’s team came in first place with 25 points.
For the men’s squad, this is its seventh-straight conference title, and eighth in the nine years. As for the women’s team, the Bombers have won the title every year since 2003.
Lead by senior captain Sean Phillips, the Bombers had four runners place in the top 10. Phillips recorded the top individual time of 25:45.9, a mile pace of 5:11. He outran St. John Fisher College senior McQuade Milligan, who crossed the finish line with a second-place time of 25:56.6.
Junior Tim Chappell and senior Jesse Capellaro finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Chappell ran a time of 26:19.3 and Capellaro clocked in at 26:20.5.
Senior Chris Gutierrez was the last member of the Blue and Gold to crack the top ten, with his ninth-place time of 26:45.9.
St. John Fisher’s and Stevens Institute of Technology’s men’s teams earned the silver and bronze with scores of 68 and 72, respectively.
The women’s squad accumulated even more success, with six runners earning top 10 spots.
Sophomore Taryn Cordani finished in second with time of 17:22.7, a mile pace of 5:36. Cordani was bested by Stevens senior Amy Regan, who defeated the field with her time of 17:17.4, a mile pace of 5:34.
Junior Denise Ibarra, sophomore Sierra Grazia and senior Michaela Cioffredi captured fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively, with their times of 18:22.7, 19:02.1 and 19:04.3.
Freshman Annika Morrison and sophomore Emilie Mertz finished in eighth and ninth place, respectively. Morrison ran a time of 19:13.3 and Mertz was four-tenths of a second behind her.
Stevens’ and Nazareth College’s women’s teams were the next top two teams with their scores of 42 and 76, respectively.
With a conference championship under their belts, both teams will compete next at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship at 11 a.m. Nov. 12 in Glassboro, New Jersey.
