by Joe Hoffmann

CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally second-ranked Cortland men's cross country team finished second at the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships in Cortland. Seth DuBois (Altamont/Guilderland) was the Red Dragons' top finisher in fourth place, completing the 8,000-meter course in 25 minutes, 44 seconds.

On a wet, windy day, SUNY Geneseo won the team title with 29 points, ending a streak of three straight conference championships for the Red Dragons. Following Geneseo was Cortland (44), Fredonia (79), Oneonta (129) and Plattsburgh (132) in the 10-team field. Lee Berube of Geneseo won the individual title in 25:12.

A combination of the weather and a slow course saw a large pack early in the race. The pack began to thin out and the top five pulled away at around the 2.5-mile mark in the race. The top two then separated themselves with about a mile and a half remaining and Berube led the rest of the race.

Cortland captured four of the top eight spots. Justin Wager (Guilderland) finished sixth (26:00), Kyle O'Brien (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) was seventh (26:01) and Sean Curry (Syracuse/Bishop Ludden) was eighth (26:04). Rounding out the scoring for Cortland was Jerry Greenlaw (Warwick/Warwick Valley) who finished 20th with a time of 26:41.

With their top-7 finishes, DuBois, Wager and O'Brien earned All-SUNYAC First Team honors. Curry earned All-SUNYAC Second Team honors with his eighth-place finish.

Two other Red Dragons finished inside the top 25 out of the field of 119 runners. Jared Newell (Queensbury) was 23rd with a time of 26:53 and Eric Stermer (Chenango Forks) was 25th with a time of 26:55.

Complete Results (PDF file)