Golden Eagles Cross Country Soars at NCAA Regionals
Rochester N.Y. — The Golden Eagles cross country program ended their season admirably on Saturday at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships. The women placed 22nd out of 40 elite Division III teams while the men placed 32nd out of 41.
Annmarie Zigrosser (Bayport, N.Y./ St. John the Baptist) was the first of her crew to cross the finish line of the 6K course and 89th out of a whopping 272 runners with a time of 23:44.3. Lauren Waka (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./ Sachem North) followed four seconds later in 93rd place while Samantha Maurice (Holtsville, N.Y./ Sachem East) rounded out SJC's top three finishers in 133rd place and a time of 24:31.8. With 600 points, the Eagles' 22nd place performance was exceptional among competitors at the very top of their division. St. Lawrence College was the number one team of the day with 50 points; Geneseo (51) was close behind followed by Oneonta (120).
Among a pack of 285 runners, Brian Wersan (Holbrook, N.Y./ Sachem North) was the 97th to cross the finish line and the first Golden Eagle with a time of 27:03.4 on the 8K course. Nick Diaz (Hauppauge, N.Y./ Hauppauge) followed a little over a minute later is 175th place with Nick Morfesi (West Babylon, N.Y./ West Babylon), the 184th to finish, on his heels. St. Lawrence (63), Geneseo (115) and Cortland (128) were the top three finishing teams for the men.