CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, November 11, 2023
The Hudson Valley Community College men's and women's cross country programs closed out the 2023 season with impressive performances at the NJCAA Division III National Championships on Saturday afternoon at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.
Entering the meet, both programs were ranked in the top-10 of the latest NJCAA Cross Country polls as they men competing in the 8K championship event first at noon and was followed by the women's 5K championship event at 1 p.m.
The men's program placed ninth overall and finished first among all of the NJCAA Region 3 programs and were led by Sam Van Auken, who finished 23rd overall with a time of 28:37.3.
Following Van Auken was Garrick Smith-Growick, who placed 30th overall with a time of 29:03.8. Rounding out the championship scoring for the men's team was William Petramale who placed 53rd overall with a time of 31:09.7. Adam Blough and Aaron Wilcox finished the race in 60th and 70th place, respectively. Blough finished with a time of 31:43.5 and Wilcox crossed the finish line in 32:40.1. Jaco Kraft did not score for the team, but he did run a nice race as he finished with a time of 33:12.00 for a top-100 finish.
The women's program ran well and finished in 11th place overall and were led by Laurel Ticer, who finished 46th overall with a time of 24:08.10. Rebecca Martin place second among the Vikings as she crossed the finish line with a time of 25:02.90 and Rebecca Seiter was right behind her with a time of 25:15.40.
Rounding out the team scoring for the women was Madison Washburn, who placed 75th overall with a time of 26:23.90 and Sydney Swedish who completed the championship race with a time of 27:03.80. Maia DiLego did not score for the Vikings, but she performed well as she earned a top 100 finish with a time of 33:18.80.