This past weekend both the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Saint Rose Golden Knight Joust held in Loudonville, N.Y., each earning top marks in their respective fields. The men placed first of 12, while the women were first out of a field of 13 teams.
For the men, sophomore Chris Frank finished with a team-high time of 27:24 on the five-mile course, good for placing seventh out of 137. Also finishing within the top 10 was senior Bryan Murphy, who placed ninth with a time of 27:29. Eight other Red Hawk runners finished in the top 25, good for collecting only 50 points. Bentley College, placed second with 23 more points.
Junior Kathryn Markowitz placed fifth in a field of 134 in the three-mile women’s race, with a time of 19:25. Classmate Erin Kyle placed ninth with a time of 19:55, narrowly edging out freshman Christine Koch by two seconds. The women’s team collected 70 points, just one less than second-place Williams College.
“I was impressed with how Chris Frank and Bryan Murphy moved up throughout the race and with the efforts of all three freshmen [Jeff Corelli, Brandon Kieft, and JP Reddinger] in their first ever 8 kilometer race.
“On the women’s side, Kathryn Markowitz and Erin Kyle were team leaders for the entire race, and Christine Koch did a great job of getting faster and passing people throughout the race,” said head coach Colin Tory.
Following the meet, the Liberty League named three runners to its weekly awards. Frank was named men’s Performer of the Week and freshman Jeff Corelli was named Rookie of the Week for the men. Markowitz was named Performer of the Week on the women’s side.
Cross country hits the trails again this weekend in Roxbury, Mass. as they compete in the Engineers Cup, hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “This weekend’s Engineers Cup—with MIT and Worcester Polytechnic Institute—is one of the traditional meets on our schedule. It’s a different experience being in a tri-meet than a larger invitational. MIT is traditionally a very strong team, and they will be a great challenge. We will continue to focus on working together and running in strong packs. Franklin Park is a great cross country course and fun place to run,” said Tory.
