SBU Sports: Men’s Cross Country finishes in 13th place while Women’s Cross Country finishes 15th at NCAA Northeast Regionals
The Stony Brook men’s cross country team returned to competition on Nov. 15, competing at the 2024 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Four of the seven Seawolf runners placed within the top-100, while Stony Brook placed 13th out of 39 schools as a team, the best finish of all the CAA teams that competed at the regional.
Sophomore Henry Gartner was the Seawolves’ top performer, finishing 47th with a time of 31:05.35 in the 10K race.
Three more Stony Brook runners recorded top-100 placements, with Michael Hawkes (60th, 31:16.62), Steven Struk (93rd, 31:53.68), and Nick Tardugno (98th, 31:57.76) doing so. Thomas Burfeind (137th), Neel Chittur (197th), and John Fontanez (250th) rounded the Seawolves’ field of runners.
“Considering we ran without two of our top five guys from the conference championship team, I was pleased with the overall effort of the men’s team,” head coach Andy Ronan said. “Henry and Michael led the way, with both of them battling hard throughout the 10,000-meter event.
The Stony Brook women’s cross country team placed 15th at the event. Grace Weigele was the team’s top performer, finishing 22nd overall and earning a second consecutive All-Region distinction. Weigele completed the 6K championship course in 20:27.13, the second-best finish for a CAA competitor.
Next to cross the finish line was Rebecca Clackett (65th, 21:19.47). Right behind Clackett was Amelie Guzman (70th, 21:26.82). Grace Sisson (109th), Danielle Cirrito (129th), Niamh Durcan (135th), and Miranda Gatto (140th) rounded out the Seawolves’ field of runners at the regional championships.
“White it was positive for Grace to make the All-Region team, there was some disappointment attached as she fell short of our goal of a top-10 finish, which may have given her a shot to make Nationals,” head coach Andy Ronan said. “She was a little off her game today, but battled to finish in the top-25. I was pleased with the rest of the girls, they competed for the entire race and produced a nice top-15 finish. We had been ranked outside the top 15 going into the meet.”
