POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 28, 2014) – The Vassar College men's and women's cross country teams return to Saratoga Springs, NY for the 2014 Liberty League Championship, hosted by RPI.
 
Meet Details
Meet: Liberty League Championships
Site: Saratoga Springs, NY
Facility:  Saratoga Spa State Park
Date: November 1, 2014
Time:  Men's 8k – 1:30pm
            Women's 6k – 2:30pm
 
Last Time Out
Both squads were off from competition last week. The women's team last raced at the Seven Sisters Championships, where they placed second as a team. Senior Cassidy Carpenter (Mountain Vew, CA/Mountainview) led the Brewers for the second-straight meet, placing fourth overall in a 6k personal best time of 22:58. She earned All-Seven Sisters honors, along with freshman Meghan Willcoxon (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East), who placed eighth overall with a personal best time of 23:16. Willcoxon's performance garnered her first selection as Liberty League Rookie of the Week. While the women raced at Seven Sisters, the men competed at Connecticut College. It proved to be a challenging race for the young Brewers squad, but freshman Philip Brown (West Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) provided a highlight, finishing first for the Brewers for the first time in his nascent career.
 
The League
The always-tough Liberty League has been especially competitive so far this season and the Brewers will have their work cut out for them when they toe the line. On the men's side, St. Lawrence is ranked 10^th in the nation and 2^nd in the Atlantic Region. The Saints have never lost at the Liberty League Championships and have had 15 of the 19 individual champions. One of those champions was then-junior Matt Giannino of RIT, who claimed the title last year, becoming the first runner from a school other than St. Lawrence or Vassar to do so. Giannino returns this year as one of the top runners in the nation.  Along with the Brewers, host RPI will be hoping to dethrone St. Lawrence. The Engineers have been nationally ranked at times this season, are currently ranked 6^th in the Atlantic Region, and received votes in the most recent national poll.
 
On the women's side, St. Lawrence has enjoyed similar dominance, but will have to fight hard to hold off an up-and-coming Brewers team. The Saints women have also never lost a Liberty League title and are currently ranked 2^nd in the nation. The Brewers have looked strong so far this year and are currently ranked 33^rd in the nation and 6^th in the Atlantic Region. The Brewers have been ranked as high as 20^th this season and have maintained a spot in the top-35 throughout the year. RIT has been a surprise contender this year and is currently ranked 8^th in the Atlantic Region after taking the number 5 spot in the previous poll.
 
Stepping Up
Carpenter has historically come on strong late in the season and this year she has been better than ever, running huge personal bests in her last two races. She placed in the top-five overall in both races and her 5k time of 18:32 at the James Earley Invitational was faster than all but three women had ever run at the meet prior to this year. It was also just 3 seconds slower than Johanna Spangler '12 ran in 2010. Spangler went on to qualify individually for the NCAA National Championship that year.
 
Mixing It Up
Both the Brewers men and women had different top-5's yet again their last time out.  The depth of both squads has been evident this year, with outstanding individual performances coming from many different runners throughout the season. If the Brewers can put it all together on the same day, the best may be yet to come.