The 2011 Men's Cross Country team returns its top runner from last season, Eric Young (Shaker/Latham). Young was last year's team MVP, running in all eight meets and finishing in the top spot for the Vikings in each. His best individual performances came at the SUNY IT Invitational where he placed first to win his first collegiate race and at the NJCAA National meet where he placed ninth. Young is coming off a year where he was named NJCAA All-American and was selected as a member of the All-Region III Team. Adam Coolong (Saratoga/Saratoga Springs) joins Young as a top returning runner. Coolong's best finish also came at the NJCAA National meet where he finished in 34th place.
The Vikings will rely on a pair of incoming freshmen to help carry the load. Nathan Clements (Mechanicville/Mechanicville) and Brendan Reilly (Columbia/East Greenbush) each participated in the Section II Cross Country Championships where Clements placed 10th (Class C) and Reilly placed 18th (Class AA).
The team looks to improve upon its fifth place showing at the 2010 NJCAA National Championship meet which will be held this year on November 5th at Stanley Field in Westfield, MA, hosted by Holyoke Community College.
The Women's Cross Country team returns its top runner in Amanda Slyer (Averill Park/Troy) who finished 25th overall at the NJCAA Championship meet, running a season-best 5k time of 22:26. She also was last season's team MVP, finishing a team-best in all eight meets. The team also returns Nicole Dootz (Bethlehem/Feura Bush) who finished 41st in the 2010 NJCAA National Meet and Ashleigh Genito (Cohoes/Cohoes) who was team captain last season and will continue to provide leadership this season.
The top two incoming freshmen for the Vikings are Hilary Crannage (Polytech/Woodside, DE) and Megan Crawford (Bethlehem/Delmar). The returning sophomore's will have to become leaders and role models to help guide these two young runners. With all of this talent, they look to make an impact in the Mountain Valley Conference.