BENNINGTON, VT – The SUNYIT men's cross country team finished with a score of 89 points to place third out of 13 teams at the Mountaineer Invitational hosted by Southern Vermont College this past Saturday, while the women scored a 130 to place fourth out of 10 teams.

Senior Ryan Darling (Jordan, NY/Jordan-Elbridge) was SUNYIT's top finisher on the men's side, coming in eighth place out of 103 runners with a time of 31:30.47.  Senior Christopher Senez (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) came in right behind him with a time of 31:31.78, while freshman Chris Wicks (Syracuse, NY/Baker) finished with a time of 32:50.28 to place 21^st.  Rounding out the top Wildcat runners was freshman Dylan Parry (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville), who finished in 25^th with a time of 33:19.65, and junior Robert Doss (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango), who finished in 26^th with a time of 33:20.93.

Josh Grant of Lyndon State was the event's top runner with a time of 30:30.28 and helped lead his school to a first place finish with a team score of 32.  Paul Smith's College came in second with a score of 84, followed by SUNYIT, Hudson Valley Community College (93) and New England College.

On the women's side, junior Bridget McMahon (Avoca, NY/Avoca Central) was the Lady Wildcats' top runner with a seventh-place finish in the field of 63 after crossing the finish line at 23:31.9.  Freshman Leah Senecal (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) came in 13^th with an end time of 24:01.5, while senior Susanna Tom (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison) came in 27^th with a finish time of 26:09.9.  Sophomore Jessica Stanford (Bath, NY/Avoca Central) placed 36^th with a time of 27:11.4 and freshman Miranda Costantine (Utica, NY/Notre Dame) placed 47^th with a finish time of 29:20 to round out the Lady Wildcats.

Ashley Maurer of Mount Saint Mary College took first place with a time of 22:33 and teammate Nicole Zazzero came in second with a time of 22:35.5 to lead Mount Saint Mary to a first place finish with a score of 32.  Bard College came in second with 46 points, followed Lyndon State College (81), SUNYIT and Green Mountain College (135).     

 The Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday, October 9 when they travel to participate in the Hamilton College Invitational.  Start times have yet to be announced.