Red Dragons on the run
Fresh off a convincing win at the eight-team Jack Daniels Shoot-Out at home, the SUNY Cortland men’s cross country team returns to action today at the Lehigh University Paul Short Run in Pennsylvania.
The Red Dragons’ women’s team is also in action and also coming off a solid performance, finishing second in the team standings behind the one-two showing of junior Emily Cotey of Norwood and senior Jordyn Naylon of Fairport. The duo led a field 132 runners as Cortland totaled 39 points, nine behind first-place Ithaca. Scranton was third with 109 points in the race named for Cortland’s former head coach.
Cotey covered a 4,000-meter course that spanned the back part of Cortland’s campus and the neighboring Cortland Water Works in 14:39.70.
Junior Bianca-Alexis Ilarraza of New City, a Clarkstown North graduate, was clocked in 19:36 for Cortland while Tappan Zee alumna Cassandra Viola, a junior from Orangeburg, was just three seconds back.
The men’s team, ranked 14th nationally, placed its premier seven runners in the top 10, sparked by senior Tom Hopkins of Syracuse, who won the 6,000-meter race in 18:52.70.
Freshman hopeful Julio Melendez of Valley Cottage also did very well as the Nyack High graduate clocked 20:54 to finish 33rd overall.
Cortland finished with 15 points, followed by Clarkson with 66 and SUNY-ESF with 71.
