Women 3rd, Men 5th at Cross Country Nationals

The Alfred State cross country team had a strong showing at the NJCAA Division III National Championships on Saturday at SUNY Delhi. The Lady Pioneers finished 3rd in the nation while the men finished tied for 5th. Athletes from 28 colleges competed in the event.

The Lady Pioneers were led by Kim Lupo (Auburn) and Katy Monahan (Warsaw). Lupo was 18th (22:00) and Monahan was 19th (22:11) over the 5k course. Claire Holleran (Penfield) was 22nd (22:19), Megan Dillon (Lake Shore) was 25th (22:27), and Leah Foley (Marion) was 59th (24:58). Anna Burkett (Frewsburg) rounded out the Lady Pioneers contingent with a 63rd place finish (25:21).

Gloucester County College won the national title with 44 points followed by Mohawk Valley CC's 66. Alfred scored a 90, Ocean County College was 4th (119) and Suffolk CCC was 5th (139).

Jedadiah Platt (Barker) led the men's team with a 10th place finish while Jordan Rusek (Williamsville East) was 13th. Both raced to All-American honors with their 28:56 and 29:10 finishes respectively. Casey Hopkins (Hamburg) was 34th (30:19), Zachary Hale (Greece Athena) was 49th (30:55), and Tom Lattanzi (Kings Park) was 65th (32:28). Eric Ransley (Midlakes) was 81st (32:28) and Logan Phillips (Genesee Valley) was 86th (32:43) to round out the Pioneers competitors in the race.

Harper College won the men's national title with 59 points followed by Gloucester (98), SUNY Delhi (115), and Ocean (128). Alfred and Howard CC both finished with 150 points.