Yeah what an odd batch of realignment… Will be a good battle for last e8 title this fall pre change (assuming genny/brockport compete next fall).
Can’t see how any of the e8 xc/track coaches were a fan of this, but kind of par for the course, getting shafted by the broader idea of “prestige” for the conference
Yeah what an odd batch of realignment… Will be a good battle for last e8 title this fall pre change (assuming genny/brockport compete next fall).
Can’t see how any of the e8 xc/track coaches were a fan of this, but kind of par for the course, getting shafted by the broader idea of “prestige” for the conference
The E8 XC battle will be pretty good. Nazareth on the mens side should win, they dominated that meet last year and I'm pretty sure they're returning everyone who was all conference. Only team that is gonna give them a run for their money is Houghton. Womens race is up between Fisher, Nazareth and Houghton. Sucks this is the last year that it will be this close on both sides.
These are... interesting, to say the least. Not sure what the rational behind many of these were. RIT at 4 is completely mind boggling considering their top 3 are gone, unless they have an insane freshman class.
I’ve heard that the realignment was being done to reduce travel - going to Plattsburgh, Potsdam, New Paltz is much costlier than moving to a mostly Rochester based Empire 8. COVID has not been kind to small liberal arts colleges.
Rumor is that other schools also attempted to jump and were not welcomed (Buff State).
Interesting that Cortland declined to follow. Maybe for clear dominance in the SUNYAC and any auto bids that come with it for other sports? I would assume they would have been accepted if requested.
PS I’ve heard whispers that Fredonia is looking to also move to the AMCC. Again, cheaper to travel to OH and PA than the east SUNYs.
XC is back baby! After a long summer we finally got to see the first meets across the region this weekend. Though nothing too interesting happened, (most teams did not race their full squads or appeared to be taking it easy) I am trying to write one of these every weekend and want to get in a good habit. I am not planning on covering all meets, just the biggest ones each weekend. If I have missed something, please fill me in. Without further ado…
Terry Rodenbeck Invitational (St. John Fisher) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Geneseo, RIT, St. John Fisher Results: 1st: Geneseo (15), 2nd: St. John Fisher (54), 3rd: RIT (71) Analysis: RIT and Fisher appeared to be racing their full squads this weekend, while Genny held a few of their top runners (including Nicky Andrews) in reserve. Unsurprisingly, the Knights went 1-10 with Anson Butler as their top man. Seems like Fisher had a decent day (???) but I’m not expecting too much from them this season. And for RIT… well, it's gonna be a long season.
Highlander Short Course Invitational (Houghton) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Brockport, Rochester, Nazareth, Cortland Results: 1st: Brockport (36), 2nd: Rochester (54), 3rd: Nazareth (71), 4th: Cortland (88) Analysis: Hard to know how hard everyone was going, but Brockport unsurprisingly took the W here with Zavalva as their #1. Most of the team results look as expected. Solid run from Brignall - should be in a good position to chase a Nationals spot come November. A nice run from Hendricks as well. And it looks like Naz’s Nate Bowers is back? Maybe Nazareth can surprise some people come November.
Nothing too special or interesting this weekend. But it’s great to be back! Excited to see what the next few weekends bring.
I’ve heard that the realignment was being done to reduce travel - going to Plattsburgh, Potsdam, New Paltz is much costlier than moving to a mostly Rochester based Empire 8. COVID has not been kind to small liberal arts colleges.
Rumor is that other schools also attempted to jump and were not welcomed (Buff State).
Interesting that Cortland declined to follow. Maybe for clear dominance in the SUNYAC and any auto bids that come with it for other sports? I would assume they would have been accepted if requested.
PS I’ve heard whispers that Fredonia is looking to also move to the AMCC. Again, cheaper to travel to OH and PA than the east SUNYs.
It's sad to see that the SUNYAC may become history.
If true, I'm a little surprised that the Empire 8 wasn't interested in Buff State with its ice hockey and football programs. With the addition of Geneseo and Brockport, the Empire 8 could be close to being able to field a competitive ice hockey conference. Perhaps that's why neither Geneseo nor Brockport has announced where their hockey teams will play.
There are probably better geographic fits for Fredonia, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, and New Paltz. However, hockey probably factors into why they may want to remain in the SUNYAC.
-Ryan Hagan to Geneseo. The above mentioned sophomore. Hand them the trophy now. -Brignall confirmed coming back for one more. -Eion McClain confirmed out at Oneonta. Word is he's transferring to a midwest power. -Patrick Klinger of Fredonia (15:32, 4:21) to transfer to Brockport.
RIT is trash
Something I noticed while poking around yesterday - multiple people in this thread have mentioned that Geneseo picked up transfer Ryan Hagan, yet I don't see him on either their team roster or TFRRS roster. Anyone know anything about it? Is he injured? Or did the transfer fall through? He would be a huge piece for the Knights to make a push to win Nationals
Once again, this weekend we had a series of races shorter than 8k (none of which were too important), but it was still good to get a first look at some other teams. We had our first taste of inter-region competition as well, and man, we had some results I did not expect. A much more exciting weekend than last week. The Yellowjacket Invite at Rochester next weekend is the first big/important meet of the fall for the Niagara teams, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves quite yet.
Hamilton Short Course Invitational (Hamilton) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Hamilton, Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Houghton, Utica Results: 1st: Roberts Wesleyan (47), 2nd: St. Lawrence (48), 3rd: Houghton (97), 4th: Hamilton (98), 5th: Nazareth (118), 6th: St. John Fisher (137), 7th: Utica (146) Analysis: Wow. There’s a lot to unpack here. First off, great run by St. Lawrence, they look like a national caliber team to me based on that result, even with Tim Boyce having a bad day. Their low stick Michael Skutt absolutely dominated, and sophomore Nick Lyndaker wasn’t too far behind. But man. FRESHMAN BENNETT MELITA FROM UTICA IN THIRD INDIVIDUALLY? Never would have seen that coming. Anyone know anything about him? Crazy. Looks like he was a 9:10 3k guy in high school, but he must have had an insane summer. Could he contend for a Nationals bid come November? Also crazy to see Houghton get 3rd overall as a team, didn’t even project them scratching the top 10. Great run from their #1 Kasper. Only so-so track credentials but he ran great, clearly also had a good summer. Hopefully these guys can keep the momentum going, especially with home field advantage for regionals. Good race from the Hamilton guys on their home course with only a 24 second spread to take 4th. 2 freshmen and 2 sophomores in their top 5 is a great sign for the future. Nazareth did not run as well as I expected, though Bowers ran well. If they can bring their 2 and 3 closer to him they should move up a few spots.
Oneonta Airfield Invitational (Oneonta) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Oneonta, Cortland, Delhi Results: 1st: Cortland (23), 2nd: Oneonta (45), 3rd: New Paltz (92), 4th: Delhi (95) Analysis: I owe Cortland an apology for being down on them before the season started. They went out and dominated, even without their low stick Brignall (hopefully he didn’t get injured and is just resting). Looks like their #2 Szabo is back for another year as well. Appears these guys will be much better than expected. On the other hand, it’s looking like I was dead wrong about Oneonta making a big jump. Even with home field advantage, they got absolutely killed. Losing McClain to Geneseo obviously hurt them, but I expected them to put up more of a fight than that. Luckily their top dog Bierman got the win. Still expecting him to grab an individual spot come November. Delhi… well, they showed up!
Tom Balon Alumni Classic (Brockport) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Brockport, Ithaca, Fredonia Results: 1st: Brockport (22), 2nd: Ithaca (78), 3rd: Fredonia (87) Analysis: Nothing surprising here. Brockport is very, very good. I still can’t put them #2 in the region due to NYU being so much better on paper… But man, it would be so cool to see the Golden Eagles get to Nationals this fall. Would be their first team to go in 46 years. Not sure when NYU will race their full squad but we should have a better sense of how good they are after Paul Short. Ithaca and Fredonia are both unfortunately not looking like they will have good years. Sorry fellas.
Overall a pretty fun weekend with some unexpected results. Gonna throw my revised top 10 out there before the region’s first big test next weekend at Genesee Valley Park. Let me know what people think.
1. Geneseo 2. NYU 3. Brockport 4. Rochester 5. Cortland 6. Houghton (!!!) 7. Hamilton 8. Oneonta 9. Nazareth 10. St. John Fisher? Idk throw whoever you want here.
NYU vs. Brockport is going to be a battle at regionals. Based on past snubs, I do not think the committee will take 3 teams to nationals from the Niagara region. So I think they will be fighting it out for that elusive ticket to nationals. Who knows if Geneseo has an off day things can get really crazy.
-Ryan Hagan to Geneseo. The above mentioned sophomore. Hand them the trophy now. -Brignall confirmed coming back for one more. -Eion McClain confirmed out at Oneonta. Word is he's transferring to a midwest power. -Patrick Klinger of Fredonia (15:32, 4:21) to transfer to Brockport.
RIT is trash
Something I noticed while poking around yesterday - multiple people in this thread have mentioned that Geneseo picked up transfer Ryan Hagan, yet I don't see him on either their team roster or TFRRS roster. Anyone know anything about it? Is he injured? Or did the transfer fall through? He would be a huge piece for the Knights to make a push to win Nationals
Probably eligibility issues since he went from D1 to D3. I don’t think he has raced yet so that could be why he isn’t showing up on TFRRS. If Geneseo runs their A squad and Hagan doesn’t run, it’s fair to say it’s probably eligibility issues and won’t race for a bit.
Regionally speaking Geneseo should be fine without Hagan but they did lose some big pieces to graduation.
NYU vs. Brockport is going to be a battle at regionals. Based on past snubs, I do not think the committee will take 3 teams to nationals from the Niagara region. So I think they will be fighting it out for that elusive ticket to nationals. Who knows if Geneseo has an off day things can get really crazy.
Agreed, with the way things are shaping up right now it is easily going to be the most interesting battle. Doubtful the committee will take 3 as well, though if NYU does well at UAAs and Brockport keeps it close with Geneseo at SUNYACs there will be at least be a chance. Obviously have no idea if Hagan is going to run for Genny this fall or not but if he isn't, I think an upset is at least within the realm of possibilities (though still not likely).
NYU vs. Brockport is going to be a battle at regionals. Based on past snubs, I do not think the committee will take 3 teams to nationals from the Niagara region. So I think they will be fighting it out for that elusive ticket to nationals. Who knows if Geneseo has an off day things can get really crazy.
Agreed, with the way things are shaping up right now it is easily going to be the most interesting battle. Doubtful the committee will take 3 as well, though if NYU does well at UAAs and Brockport keeps it close with Geneseo at SUNYACs there will be at least be a chance. Obviously have no idea if Hagan is going to run for Genny this fall or not but if he isn't, I think an upset is at least within the realm of possibilities (though still not likely).
If they (Brockport or NYU) want a bid they are going to have to build a case throughout the season. Brockport could've went to Nattys last year but they really didn't have any big wins or races until that punch they threw at Geneseo at SUNYACs
Once again, this weekend we had a series of races shorter than 8k (none of which were too important), but it was still good to get a first look at some other teams. We had our first taste of inter-region competition as well, and man, we had some results I did not expect. A much more exciting weekend than last week. The Yellowjacket Invite at Rochester next weekend is the first big/important meet of the fall for the Niagara teams, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves quite yet.
Hamilton Short Course Invitational (Hamilton) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Hamilton, Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Houghton, Utica Results: 1st: Roberts Wesleyan (47), 2nd: St. Lawrence (48), 3rd: Houghton (97), 4th: Hamilton (98), 5th: Nazareth (118), 6th: St. John Fisher (137), 7th: Utica (146) Analysis: Wow. There’s a lot to unpack here. First off, great run by St. Lawrence, they look like a national caliber team to me based on that result, even with Tim Boyce having a bad day. Their low stick Michael Skutt absolutely dominated, and sophomore Nick Lyndaker wasn’t too far behind. But man. FRESHMAN BENNETT MELITA FROM UTICA IN THIRD INDIVIDUALLY? Never would have seen that coming. Anyone know anything about him? Crazy. Looks like he was a 9:10 3k guy in high school, but he must have had an insane summer. Could he contend for a Nationals bid come November? Also crazy to see Houghton get 3rd overall as a team, didn’t even project them scratching the top 10. Great run from their #1 Kasper. Only so-so track credentials but he ran great, clearly also had a good summer. Hopefully these guys can keep the momentum going, especially with home field advantage for regionals. Good race from the Hamilton guys on their home course with only a 24 second spread to take 4th. 2 freshmen and 2 sophomores in their top 5 is a great sign for the future. Nazareth did not run as well as I expected, though Bowers ran well. If they can bring their 2 and 3 closer to him they should move up a few spots.
Oneonta Airfield Invitational (Oneonta) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Oneonta, Cortland, Delhi Results: 1st: Cortland (23), 2nd: Oneonta (45), 3rd: New Paltz (92), 4th: Delhi (95) Analysis: I owe Cortland an apology for being down on them before the season started. They went out and dominated, even without their low stick Brignall (hopefully he didn’t get injured and is just resting). Looks like their #2 Szabo is back for another year as well. Appears these guys will be much better than expected. On the other hand, it’s looking like I was dead wrong about Oneonta making a big jump. Even with home field advantage, they got absolutely killed. Losing McClain to Geneseo obviously hurt them, but I expected them to put up more of a fight than that. Luckily their top dog Bierman got the win. Still expecting him to grab an individual spot come November. Delhi… well, they showed up!
Tom Balon Alumni Classic (Brockport) Notable Niagara Region Teams: Brockport, Ithaca, Fredonia Results: 1st: Brockport (22), 2nd: Ithaca (78), 3rd: Fredonia (87) Analysis: Nothing surprising here. Brockport is very, very good. I still can’t put them #2 in the region due to NYU being so much better on paper… But man, it would be so cool to see the Golden Eagles get to Nationals this fall. Would be their first team to go in 46 years. Not sure when NYU will race their full squad but we should have a better sense of how good they are after Paul Short. Ithaca and Fredonia are both unfortunately not looking like they will have good years. Sorry fellas.
Overall a pretty fun weekend with some unexpected results. Gonna throw my revised top 10 out there before the region’s first big test next weekend at Genesee Valley Park. Let me know what people think.
1. Geneseo 2. NYU 3. Brockport 4. Rochester 5. Cortland 6. Houghton (!!!) 7. Hamilton 8. Oneonta 9. Nazareth 10. St. John Fisher? Idk throw whoever you want here.
I'd also like to give credit to my first post in this thread. Houghton has a great coach and could seriously end Nazareth's streak of conference titles. Melita from Utica was state champ in high school during cross country for class C last year so he's legit. If we're looking at conferences races, that Empire 8 one will be really good. Will be interesting to see how Houghton, Naz and Fisher respond to 8k races.
Agreed, with the way things are shaping up right now it is easily going to be the most interesting battle. Doubtful the committee will take 3 as well, though if NYU does well at UAAs and Brockport keeps it close with Geneseo at SUNYACs there will be at least be a chance. Obviously have no idea if Hagan is going to run for Genny this fall or not but if he isn't, I think an upset is at least within the realm of possibilities (though still not likely).
If they (Brockport or NYU) want a bid they are going to have to build a case throughout the season. Brockport could've went to Nattys last year but they really didn't have any big wins or races until that punch they threw at Geneseo at SUNYACs
Will be interesting to see if Brockport actually sends their A team to Rochester this weekend. If I remember correctly they rested most of their top guys last year - completely agree that they need to build more of a resume this year (definitely didn't help their case last fall)
Scratch that - Brockport actually doesn't have Rochester on their schedule. Very surprising IMO. The only meet they have on their schedule that will be competitive is Mike Woods in mid October. So much for building a resume
Brockport will be at pre nats and houghton the same week with a team at pre nats
Brockport needs to out perform some nationally ranked teams there if they want a chance to get a bid saying they lose to Geneseo or even NYU at regionals. I only mentioned Houghton because they ran well and while the Empire 8 conference race won't be fast by any means it will be a close race between 3, maybe even 4 teams if Utica can start to sharpen up
Brockport will be at pre nats and houghton the same week with a team at pre nats
Good for them. Agree with Make Niagara Region Great again, it's imperative that they beat a couple of nationally ranked teams there. Hopefully the stars align and they have a great day.