MARCY, N.Y. – Two Saturday's ago, the SUNYIT Men's Cross Country Team won the NEAC Championship, leaving the field in the dust with a total team score of 27. All of SUNYIT's scoring five runners finished in the top ten, and sophomore Derek Struck (Knox, N.Y. / Berne-Knox-Westerlo) won the race and was therefore named NEAC Runner of the Year.
His Coach, Bill Tylutki was named Coach of the Year, seniors Dylan Parry (Voorheesville, N.Y. / Voorheesville) and Chris Wicks (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / C.W. Baker) joined Struck on the All-Conference First Team, and overall a total of 6 Wildcats were named to one of the All-NEAC squads.
While the SUNYIT campus celebrated the victory, the team set their sights higher:
"Our big thing is to get Struck to the nationals," said Coach Bill Tylutki in a recent interview, "and I think he can do that."
To prepare for the big race this weekend, the Wildcats took on a giant field of 63 teams at the ECAC Championship over the weekend, hosted by Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.
The 'Cats ran well for the second year in a row, finishing 14th out of the monster field.
"Just about everybody PR'd [set a personal record]," said Tylutki, "Chris Wicks ran a really good race."
As for the team's top runner, Struck, Tylutki was pleased with his performance:
"Derek Struck held back…he did what he had to do," said Tylutki of the sophomore, who finished 62nd with a time of 27 minutes and 22 seconds, just behind Parry, whom he helped set a PR with a time of 27 minutes and 21 seconds, good for 61st.
"Overall we ran better than last year, but the competition this year was tougher," said Tylutki, "out of 63 schools represented, we finished 14th, and we were the best area team at the race."
Regarding the NCAA race this Saturday, Tylutki was optimistic:
"We should be able to finish mid-pack like last year, maybe a little bit better – our times are better than last year."
The team has never had a runner qualify for the NCAA nationals, but then again the Wildcats have never had a runner like Struck. Weather could also play a factor, according to Tylutki:
"The course out there at Geneseo is a slow course, there's a lot of grass, and especially…up on that bluff, it's on the edge of the Genesee River and if it's a windy day it can have a big effect on the runners."
Of course Struck, who set a course record in sloppy conditions at the NEAC Championship, seems to feed off the sort of adversity the weather at Geneseo could bring:
"Yeah, I think that helps him…he's like a bulldog, he just hangs on. The tougher it gets the more he fights," said Tylutki.
For more information on the upcoming NCAA Atlantic Regional race, check out the SUNY-Geneseo race page:
http://geneseoknights.com/atlanticregionals13
For updates on race day, you can follow the Knights on twitter: @GeneseoKnights