Ithaca Defends Empire 8 Men's Cross Country Title
October 28, 2009
ROCHESTER, NY – Ithaca College will defend its men’s cross country conference championship at the Empire 8 Cross Country Championships held in conjunction with the Saratoga Invitational at Saratoga Springs on Saturday.
The Bombers are led by senior Curt Bell, who finished second in last year’s championship and has earned Empire 8 Runner of the Week honors three times this season. He has earned first-team all-conference recognition each of the last two seasons. Ithaca is ranked eighth in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III Atlantic Region rankings.
Rochester Institute of Technology, seeking its fifth Empire 8 title in the past six years, enters the championship ranked 26th nationally and fifth in the Atlantic Region. Senior Jared Burdick has been named Empire 8 Runner of the Year three times this season and earned first-team all-conference honors in the 2007 championship. Senior Mike Brindak garnered all-conference first-team status in 2008. Senior Mike Hardbarger was named Empire 8 Runner of the Week earlier this season and was the 2009 Empire 8 Track Athlete of the Year in indoor track and field.
Junior Matt Morales was the top Nazareth College finisher at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference championships at Genesee Valley Park. Morales was named Runner of the Week in the conference earlier this season.
Sophomore Brian Stevens has been the top Utica College finisher in four of five races this season. David DeWan of Stevens Institute of Technology was the first Empire 8 Runner of the Week this season.
Senior Corey Smith was the top Alfred University finisher at the New York State championship meet. Junior captain Tim Sattler paced Hartwick College at the state meet.