Racing short-handed but aggressive all the same, the College of Staten Island men’s cross-country program showcased at the ECAC Division III Championship this weekend in North Adams, MA, placing 30th overall among a collection of 40 ECAC schools. It was their final tune-up before the NCAA Division III Regional Championships at SUNY-Geneseo this coming weekend.
The Dolphins raced without the services of sophomore Andrew Scharf, but were still able to use the meet as a buffer to the NCAA’s, where head coach Robert Russo hopes to have him back at one hundred percent. Among the 277 total racers, CSI’s Liam McMunn led the way for CSI, posting an 8k time of 29:42.93, coming in 136th overall. It was CSI’s fifth-best 8k race time of the season. Fellow sophomore Matthew Day raced in at 30:49.82, and then Samuel Obisanya came in at 31:21.12.
Rounding out the CSI scorers were Kenneth Morella at 31:24.13 and Joshua Ribaudo at 33:03.10. Richard Ruggiero also crossed the line, finishing at 36:30.18.
“It was a challenging course,” said Russo. “Overall, it was a great experience and it keeps us mentally fresh for our big meet next week upstate.”
Amherst College won the meet outright with just 53 points, followed by Williams College (77) and Middlebury College (117). Hunter College was the only other CUNYAC school to participate at ECAC’s, and they finished in 25th place with 719 points. CSI finished with 819.
