Gold Championship Results
Purple Champonshp Results

ALBANY, NY (October 17, 2009) – Conditions were ideal for fast times and personal bests at the all-Division Albany Invitational on Saturday morning, and the Vassar men's cross country team responded with four runners timing under 27 minutes in the 8k Championship Race. As a team, the Brewers finished 17th of 24 teams in a competition that featured teams from Division I, II and III. 

In the all-Division race, Vassar faced the strongest variety of competition it will meet until the championship season in November. Despite chilly temperatures, the course was fast and opened up nicely for the runners after the first 800 meters. 

Junior Jonathan Erickson, freshmen Samuel Wagner and Roni Teich along with sophomore Zach Williams all run sub-27 races in what Associate Head Coach Ron Stonitsch called one of the “greatest presentations Vasar has ever had at this race.” 

In a crowded field with 189 runners, Erickson finished 37th overall with a 25:49 time, a 64 second improvement from his sophomore season. “What Jon showed today, is that he can run with the best” said Stonitsch. In the same race last year, Erickson placed 95th of 186 runners with a 26:53 finish. 

Both freshmen Wagner and Teich ran together, finishing in 90th and 94th positions respectively with 26:30 and 26:33 finishes. “I was particularly impressed with the effort from our two freshmen today,” Stonitsch added. 

Sophomore Williams was the fourth Vassar runner to produce a sub-27 minute race, finishing in 104th place with a 26:47 finish. Williams shaved eight seconds off his freshman season time. Sophomore Justin Rupert and senior Danny McBee were both close to sub-27 minute races. Rupert finished in 27:13, good for 126th overall, which was a ten second improvement from his freshman season. McBee, who ran in the 8k Purple race last year, ran in the Gold race this season and clocked in at 27:26, finishing 136th. 

“We could have seven guys all running under 27 minutes, which would be a first for Vassar,” explains Stonitsch. “Today was very exciting for our program and it bodes well for the rest of the season.” 

The Brewers also had several runners competing in the 8k Purple Race, which did not have a team score. Sophomore William Healy was Vassar's top finisher, placing 15th of out 83 runners with a time of 27.06. Senior Dan Leibowitz placed 19th (27:22), sophomore Matt Blair in 23rd (27:32), senior Ges Adams in 32nd (27:51), freshman Chris Lloyd in 46th (28:27), freshman Danny Basch in 54th (29:06), senior Ali Jamil in 59th (29:21), sophomore David Reuss in 66th (30:04), sophomore Zach Zeilman in 69th (31:08) and freshman Raffael Ricaurte in 76th (32:24)

The Brewers return to action next Saturday, October 24 at the Saratoga Invitational in Saratoga Springs.