MARCY, N.Y. – On a near perfect day for fans (though considerably hot by cross country running standards), SUNYIT freshman Derek Struck (Knox, N.Y. / Berne-Knox-Westerlo) won the team's home invitational with a course record mark of 19:53.3.
The freshman said he felt good out on the course, but was surprised to run as well as he did considering the heat.
The previous course record of 19:57.00 was set by Ben Flanagan of Hobart in 2009.
In addition to Struck, the SUNYIT team as a whole ran an outstanding race. SUNYIT's five scoring runners all finished in the top-26, with junior Dylan Parry (Voorheesville, N.Y. / Voorheesville) running one of his best races as a Wildcat. Parry finished 8th with a time of 20:32.8 on the 6K Men's Run.
While Struck blew away the field (winning by just over 10 full seconds, he was the only runner visible on the home stretch at the time he crossed the finish line), the day ultimately belonged to SUNY ESF. The Oaks finished with a stunning spread of 3-4-9-10-12. Brian Busby led the way in 3rd place with a time of 20:08.5.
Given the dry summer the course was fast, but gains in footing were most likely offset by temperatures that reached into the low 80s.
SUNYIT Coach Bill Tylutki was unable to be reached for comment, but was seen at the finish line beaming as Struck won the race, and appeared to be exceptionally pleased with his team's performance.
