On October 26th, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams will travel to the University of Rochester for the Yellow Jacket Invitational. Competing against SUNY Cortland will be Alfred State College, Buffalo State College, Clarkson University, Colgate University, Cornell University, Hamilton College, Hartwick College, Hobart College, Ithaca College, Keuka College, Le Moyne College, Muskingum University, Oberlin College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Potsdam, St. John Fisher College, University at Buffalo, University of Rochester, and William Smith College.
“I am looking forward to the meet this weekend at the University of Rochester,” said senior runner Deirdre Sullivan. “I’ve been on this course before, and it is the perfect amount of challenge for us to show how tough we are against these other teams.”
Last season, the cross country teams finished third at the SUNYAC conference championship meet. Student-athlete Hunter Brignal was sent to the NCAA National meet to represent SUNY Cortland.
So far this season, both teams have competed in three meets. At the St. John Fischer Invite on August 30th, the women and the men placed fourth. Then at the Oswego Invitational, the men won, and the women placed second. At the Oneonta Invite, both teams placed second. It seems as if the meets keep coming, the teams keep getting stronger.
“This team has been working hard since we got here in August. We put in literal blood, sweat, and tears at practice; and I am confident we will show that BIG this season,” said Sullivan.
As the season continues, the thoughts of winning the SUNYAC Championship meet grow stronger. With the absence of SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport, the odds of winning the championship are in Cortland’s favor. “I’m very excited as this is my senior season, and I think we have a very strong team this year. We’re hoping to get a conference title on both the women’s and men’s side in October,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan is just one of the many student-athletes that represent the cross-country team. The entire team is driven to win a conference title and lower their times on their way to doing it. As many of the athletes will return to indoor and outdoor track season, the idea of working extremely hard all year long may not seem enticing to some. However, these young women and men think otherwise.
The cross-country team will travel this weekend to the University of Rochester to compete in the Yellow Jacket Invitational. Keep an eye out for them, as they may just win it all.