The Oswego State Lakers cross country teams traveled to Glassboro, New Jersey, Nov. 10 to compete in the NCAA Atlantic Regional meet. Out of over 40 programs, both the men’s and women’s teams finished in the top half of the final rankings. The women’s team finished in 18th out of 44, while the men placed 20th out of 45. With the cross country season ending at Regionals, both sides were satisfied with their respected seasons.
Despite dropping six spots in comparison to last year’s 14th-place finish, the men’s team had a solid season. The program saw a minor step back in season-to-season comparisons but will be better off in the long run.
“We graduated…four of our [top] scoring members from last year,” head coach Evan Magnussen said. “Those were big losses to take, especially considering it was the number one, two and three runners from the team at regionals last year. I expected the men to fall back a little bit, but the fact of the matter is it’s a young program, and there is a lot of potential in the men we brought in this year and a lot of potential in the future recruiting classes.”
Those losses include Colin Greenseich and Kyle Pollicove. Although the program lost two all-time greats, the team saw a couple of runners step up and flourish in their new roles. Senior Nick LeClair was one of those athletes who led the Lakers at Regionals. He came in 51st place out of over 300 runners. He had his second-best race of the season with a time of 27:29.4, which was just one minute and 35 seconds off his personal best pace for the 8k. As a senior, all LeClair wanted was to have a race he could be proud of, and he did deliver.
“I put it all out there,” LeClair said, “And when I crossed the line, I was happy with it… There was a little bit of relief because cross country is a lot of work, and [it was] just a nice way to cap off eight or nine or years of running [cross country].”
While the men’s program expected to take a small step back, it was the polar opposite for the women’s cross country team. Magnussen has spent his time as head coach, since spring 2017, rebuilding a historically mediocre program. Through the addition of promising recruits and transfers from elite programs, the women’s program set program bests for their finishes in the SUNYAC championship (sixth) and NCAA Atlantic Regionals (18th). Despite the significant improvement, Magnussen says it is not fair to compare this revamped program to the previous teams.
“We are a completely different program now,” Magnussen said. “If you look at the number of new people this year compared to the number that returned from last year, there is more new about the program than there is returning. It is just a completely different mindset [and] work ethic, bringing in people who have worked [in] top programs at both the high school and collegiate level and they brought that mentality to Oswego.”
Magnussen brought in a ton of new faces, including Mackenzie Ross from SUNY Geneseo and former SUNY Oneonta Red Dragon Meghan O’Dwyer, two significant transfers who helped mentor the six freshmen brought onto the team. While the duo did not set program records at their old schools, they brought in something better – pedigree. Being a part of two perennially great and nationally ranked programs was a huge addition to Oswego State. On the field, both were top finishers at different times during the season. Ross led the team early in the season, as she was the first Laker to cross the finish line at the Mike Woods Invitational on Sep. 29. O’Dwyer paced the Lakers this past weekend at Regionals, as she finished the 6k in 63rd place with a time of 24:15.7. However, this was not their main role. The pair had their presence was felt as leaders and program-changers.
“Here, it’s definitely a different atmosphere,” O’Dwyer said. “We are a building team… That was very different coming from a team that was nationally ranked to a team that is trying to eventually get to that spot…Being part of the team going up and up and up, and slowly improving is a really good feeling to know you are actually making a huge impact on the team.”
Graphic by Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian
