CANTON, N.Y. – Cortland's men's cross country team finished in fourth place at the Hoffmann Invitational, hosted by St. Lawrence University. The host Saints claimed the top five individual spots to win the team title with 15 points. Clarkson (63), the University of Ottawa (64), Cortland (115) and SUNY Canton (142) rounded out the field.

The Red Dragons held out their top runners in preparation for next weekend's Connecticut College Invitational. Many of the Cortland runners at St. Lawrence were competing in their first or second 8,000-meter race.

Freshman Brian Hotchkiss (Henrietta/Rush-Henrietta) was Cortland's top finisher with a 27th-place time of 28:19 over a wet and muddy 8,000-meter course. He ran a very smart and even race, which enabled him to move through the field nicely. Hotchkiss also helped out junior Greg Burns (Watertown/South Jefferson) and junior Garrett Parker (Whitesboro), who finished 31st (28:45) and 33rd (28:50), respectively.

Cortland's top five also included freshman Dylan Coppola (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley), who finished 37th (29:07), and sophomore Joe Blazey (Newark Valley), who placed 38th (29:08). Freshman Matt McNamara (Highland Mills/Monroe-Woodbury) and freshman Craig Nevins (Hurley/Kingston) closed the last portions of the race hard – McNamara finished 42nd (29:19) and Nevins was 44th (29:27).

Jeremy Mwenda of St. Lawrence won the race in 26:02. In all, 84 runners competed.

(Assistant Coach Josh Henry contributed to this story)

Complete Results (PDF)