SBU Sports: Andy Ronan named CAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
The Stony Brook cross country program took the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) by storm this season, as the Seawolves began their new era in the conference by claiming its first-ever CAA Championship on the men’s side and a third-place finish on the women’s side.
After leading his team to the historic victory, head coach Andy Ronan was named the 2022 CAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. This season, Ronan led the men’s team to seven top 10 overall finishes, including victories at the Stony Brook Season Opener, Friar Invitational, Adelphi Short-Course Showdown, CAA Championship, and a sixth-place performance at the NCAA Regional Championships.
This was the 10th overall Coach of the Year award for Ronan, as he was tabbed the America East Women’s Coach of the Year eight years in a row (2005-2012), while also earning his first conference coach of the year nod on the men’s side in 2012.
Also, Ronan coached eight student athletes to the All-CAA Men and Women’s Cross Country Teams.
On the men’s side, graduates Carlos Santos Jr., Robert Becker, Aiden Smyth, Conor Malanaphy, and seniors Evan Brennan and Shane Henderson earned All-CAA honors after their performances at the CAA Championship. The squad was driven by Santos Jr., and Becker as they finished in fourth and fifth-place. Rounding out the top 10 was Brennan, Henderson, and Smyth coming in at sixth, seventh, and ninth-place. Malanaphy came in 12th place for the Seawolves.
Junior Fiona McLoughlin recorded a fifth-place finish at 21:41.50 to collect All-CAA honors at the CAA Championship. For the season, McLoughlin was the top finisher on the team in five of six races and notched four top-10 outings.
Sophomore Grace Weigele finished shortly after McLoughlin in seventh-place to earn the All-CAA recognition. It was the fourth top 10 finish on the season for the Long Island native and would end her season by notching a team best 26th-place overall performance at the NCAA Regional Championship.
