The Binghamton men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Northeast Regional on Friday at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts, with the men taking 11th out of 37 and the women finishing 31st out of 38.
To earn a guaranteed spot at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, a team must finish in the top two at its regional championship. Aside from that, a team can possibly earn a spot based off of its performances throughout the season.
On the men’s side, Syracuse University and Iona College finished first and second at the meet, respectively, earning themselves trips to the NCAA Championships next weekend in Louisville, Kentucky.
On the women’s side, Providence College and Syracuse University qualified for the national competition.
Leading the Binghamton men was redshirt senior Collin Frost, who covered the 10,000-meter course in 31:49.1, good enough to place 55th out of 247 runners. Close behind was senior Ethan Hausamann, who crossed the line at 31:55.9, placing 59th.
Finishing next for the Bearcats was junior Eric Holt, who placed 80th with a time of 32:14.1. Seniors Andrew Roache (32:42.0) and Nate Kozyra (32:44.1) rounded out the scoring five, finishing in 108th and 110th places, respectively.
BU Head Coach Annette Acuff was happy with the men’s team’s performance.
“Going into the season, you never know,” Acuff said. “I was very pleased with the team’s performance.”
Overall, the men scored 405 points and improved from last year’s 13th-place finish.
“Our goal is always to try and finish in the top 15,” Acuff said. “[It was] a great finish for the men’s program.”
On the women’s side, the Bearcats scored 786 points, finishing in 31st. Last year, they finished 29th out of the 40 teams that competed.
Leading the women was senior Alexis Hatcher who finished in 93rd out of 256 runners, covering the 6,000-meter course in 22:32.
“She’s worked really hard,” Acuff said of Hatcher’s performance this year. “She’s been a great asset to our program.”
Young talent followed behind Hatcher as sophomore Allison Davis (22:56.4) and freshman Jessica Thatcher (23:26.8) finished next for the Binghamton women, crossing the line in 124th and 160th place, respectively.
Rounding out the top five Bearcat women were juniors Alana MacDonald (24:07.4) and Eileen O’Hara (24:18), finishing the race in 200th and 213th places.
With one cross country race left in the season, Acuff is eager to get back on the track.
“Our teams look pretty good going into this year [for track and field],” Acuff said. “It should be an exciting indoor and outdoor season. We have some good relays that have the potential to do really well.”
The Bearcats will use their next race, the ECAC/IC4A Championships, as a developmental meet. That race is set for November 21 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York. The start times for the races have yet to be announced.