POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The men's and women's cross country teams are geared up for the MAAC Championships at Rosedale Park in Pennington, New Jersey on Saturday, Oct. 31. Last year, the men finished fourth while the women finished in third place. The women's race will start at 11 a.m. while the men will follow with a 12 p.m. start.
Despite going up against nationally ranked Iona (who have won the MAAC Championships 24 years in a row) and regionally ranked Canisius College and Monmouth University, the men are primed to match their best finish in the championships, second place, which they achieved in 1998, 2003 and 2005-2012. The team does not feature one “lead” runner but instead boasts a strong pack that push each other every day. This was particularly evident in the Paul Short/Lehigh meet in September during which an eight second gap separated the team's top five finishers.
The women have won the championships a total of 4 times in 1998-2000 and most recently in 2004. Following a very successful 2015 season, in which the Red Foxes saw their best finish in program history at the Paul Short/Lehigh meet with a 14th place finish out of 35 teams, the women feature a strong blend of veteran leadership mixed with young, up and coming runners that will look to top last year's third place finish.
