CLINTON, NY – The SUNYIT men's cross country team had a total of 166 points to take home sixth place out of nine teams at the Hamilton College Invitational this past Saturday, while the women's team finished in eighth place out of nine teams with a total of 254 points.

Senior Ryan Darling (Jordan, NY/Jordan-Elbridge) was the top runner for the men's team, crossing the finish line at 28:31.8 to place 18^th individually out of 99 runners.  Senior Christopher Senez (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) came in 28^th place with a time of 28:57.5, while freshman Chris Wicks (Syracuse, NY/Baker) came in 33^rd with a time of 29:12.7.  Rounding out SUNYIT's top-five finishers was junior Robert Doss (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango), who came in 37^th place with a time of 29:22.5, and fellow classmate David Culbertson (Rome, NY/Smithfield-Selma) who had an end time of 31:50.7 to finish 74^th overall. 

Hamilton College's Peter Kosgei was the men's top runner with a finish time of 25:32.5 and helped guide Hamilton to a first place finish with a team total of 35 points.

On the women's side, freshman Leah Senecal (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) finished at 21:45.4 to place 55^th individually out of 97 runners.  Junior Bridget McMahon (Avoca, NY/Avoca Central) had an end time of 23:21.8 for the Lady Wildcats, while senior Susanna Tom (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison) finished at 24:04.  Sophomore Jessica Stanford (Bath, NY/Avoca Central) had an end time of 25:28.3 and freshman Miranda Costantine (Utica, NY/Notre Dame) finished at 26:56.2 to round out the top Lady Wildcat runners.

Savanna Boucher of Mohawk Valley Community College took first place with a finish time of 18:32.8, while SUNY Brockport won the women's event with a team total of 45 points.

The Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday, October 16 when they travel to participate in the Cross Country Only Championships at the Seneca Lake State Park in Geneva, NY.  The women's race will begin at 11:00 am, while the men will start at noon.