CONTACT: Adam Sopris, (518) 629-7898, a.sopris@hvcc.edu
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, July 8, 2019
Complete Standings
The Hudson Valley Community College athletics department earned a program best eighth-place finish in the 2018-19 National Alliance of Two Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) Daktronics Cup standings following unprecedented success among the Vikings 18 varsity sports.
The Vikings accumulated 83.5 points and finished behind Region 3 programs Herkimer (109.50) and Onondaga (107.50). Suffolk Community College captured the title with 152 total points, followed by Rowan College at Gloucester County, NJ (131) and Herkimer.
The NATYCAA Daktronics Cup recognizes excellence in two-year college athletics based on success in championship competition across all sports in three divisions of two-year intercollegiate athletics, which include over 660 NATYCAA members.
The Vikings won three NJCAA Region 3 Championships, led by the men's outdoor track and field team, which won their second straight regional title and followed it up with a fifth-place finish at the national championship meet. The men's and women's cross-country programs also won regional titles for the first time since 1996 and 1974, respectively. The men's cross-country program earned a seventh-place finish at nationals as All-American Jared Craw led the way with a fourth-place finish for the Vikings. The women posted a fifth-place finish and were led by Mercedes Planavsky's 10thplace finish, which qualified her as an All-American as well.
As a whole, 14 athletic programs reached postseason competition with Vikings student-athletes earning 12 NJCAA All-American honors, highlighted by individual track and field national champions Elijah Washington (Hammer Throw) and Planavsky (3,000m Steeplechase). Women's soccer's Sydnee Metzold earned a First Team All-American nod following her record season in which she set the program's all-time points record (73) and goals scored (28).
About NATYCAA: Now in its 31st year, NATYCAA is the professional organization of two-year college athletics administrators and membership open to all two-year institutions from throughout the country. NATYCAA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 54th year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.