CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, October 14, 2023
The Hudson Valley Community College men's and women's cross country program competed in the 2023 Mountain Valley Conference Championships on Saturday morning in Herkimer, NY. The men's program placed first and claimed the program's third consecutive title and five championship in program history.
The men's championship was an 8,000-meters race and the Vikings had all five runners finish inside the top-12 and were led by Sam Van Auken, who placed second overall with a time of 28:32. Garrick Smith-Growick earned a top-5 finish as he placed fourth overall and posted an official time of 30:00.
Adam Blough placed seventh with a time of 31:16, earning his second straight top-10 finish at the MVC championships. Right behind Blough was William Petramale, who placed ninth overall with a time of 31:38, who also earned his second straight top-10 finish after placed 10th in the 2022 championships.
Jaco Kraft and Aaron Wilcox rounds out the team scoring as Kraft placed 10th overall with a 31:57 time and Wilcox placed 12th overall with a time of 32:17.
For the women, the team did not have enough runners available to qualify for a team championship, but all four runners finished inside the top-15 of the final standings. Leading the way for Hudson Valley was Madison Washburn and Rebecca Seiter, who finished 11th and 12th, respectively. Washburn crossed the finish line with a time of 30:44 and Seiter was seconds behind her with an official time of 30:46.
Maia DiLego and Angelica Slingerland placed 13th and 14th overall with DeLego posted an official time of 32:30 and Slingerland crossed the finish line at 33:47 in the 5,000-meters race.
Up next for the cross country programs is the NJCAA Region 3 Championships on Saturday, October 28 at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, NY.