The Oswego State men’s cross-country team had its most successful finish in the SUNYAC Championships on Oct. 28. The team placed third overall out of 10 teams after finishing fourth last season. They finished 29 points behind second-place SUNY Oneonta.
Senior Collin Greenseich was the first Laker to cross the finish line, in fourth place, with junior Dylan McCarthy placing eighth. Both runners landed spots in the 2017 SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame.
First-year head coach Evan Magnussen said he felt confident going into the championships and assured himself that he had trained the team well throughout the regular season. While he was in charge this season, he credited the buildup to former coaches.
“It means my predecessors did a great job setting me up for success,” Magnussen said. “I can claim a small portion of this, but so can Sarah Ritchie and so can Steph Grimm.”
This season, Magnussen made sure to treat every day the same during practices and meets and not make the SUNYAC Championship meet the “end all be all” event. He did not want the team thinking the SUNYAC’s was some special event, giving extra excitement to the team.
“Collin looked strong all season. Dylan looked strong all season, for the most part,” Magnussen said. “Those two, I was very confident on.”
With this being Greenseich’s fourth championship race for SUNYAC, he felt he knew how to run it. His confidence came from both the season and cross-country experience. The Cicero, New York, native has ran since he was in seventh grade.
“I guess it was confidence from the season. I had a lot of great runs this season,” Greenseich said. “I wasn’t stressing over the SUNYACs, it was just another race, even with the whole hall of fame thing.”
After Greenseich’s finish of 27:03.6 in the 8K race, he was the first person that Magnussen went up to. McCarthy finished a little less than 20 seconds behind at 27:22.7 in the same race.
“The first person I went to see was Collin, and said, ‘you did it,’” Magnussen said. “I don’t think I didn’t have a smile on my face for the rest of the day. I was pretty happy with it.”
Greenseich and McCarthy mark the first men’s cross-country runner from Oswego State to make the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame in 17 years. Rich Friedrich was the last to do so in 2000.
“I was happy with it. I wasn’t like overjoyed. I just felt like I was happy that I came in fourth place,” Greenseich said. “I was just so happy with myself and how far I’ve come with the conference itself.”
Now, as the season comes to a close, the cross-country teams will head to the NCAA Atlantic Regional meet. This year, it will be hosted by Houghton College in Houghton, New York. Last season, McCarthy placed 41 and Greenseich placed 47.
The last runner to qualify for the NCAA Championship was Jeffrey Beck, in 2002. Friedrich was before him in 2000. Last season, the team placed 13th at the regional meet.
With typical fall weather coming in, the team has been fortunate enough to have solid weather throughout the season. It is supposed to be very cold for the team at regionals.
“It’s kind of hard to even think about it right now, because we’ve had the best season of weather for cross-country,” Magnussen said. “We’re not the only team dealing with it. It’s 45 degrees and rainy for every team.”
Greenseich will be hoping to extend his Laker cross-country career one more meet, as the team prepares for the regional meet. They will race at Houghton on Nov. 11 for the Atlantic Regional meet.
Photo: Anthony Lupia
