October 28, 2006

First-year Ben Flanagan finished second for the Statesmen. (Photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart cross country team totaled 68 points to finish second in today’s Cross Country Only Championships, held at the Seneca Lake State Park. Utica College won the team title with 63 points.

First-year Ben Flanagan (Masconomet/Boxford, Mass.) led the Statesmen, coming in second place and completing the 8-kilometer race in a time of 27:26. Classmates Andrew Ockenden (Conestoga/Paoli, Pa.) and Tom Harty (Portsmouth Abbey School/Norfolk, Mass.), and senior Mike Guglielmo (Northern Highlands/Allendale, N.J.) followed, coming in 11th, 12th, and 13th, respectively, while Ryan Walters (Fox Lane/Bedford, N.Y.) finished 30th. Ockenden (29:02) and Guglielmo (29:20) both recorded personal-best times, as did first-year Erik Krahn (Freeport/Freeport, Maine) (33:21) and junior Joe Bochynski (Amherst/Amherst, N.Y.) (33:08).

Six teams and 60 runners competed in the event, including Daemon (3rd place), Clarkson (4th-T), SUNY IT (4th-T), and Potsdam (127). Utica’s Adam Harding was the first to cross the line, with a time of 26:34, while SUNY IT’s Gary Pereira (27:50) finished third.

The CCOC provides those programs without track teams a chance to measure themselves against similar programs, instead of competing against student-athletes that are coached all year long from cross country to indoor track to outdoor track.

The Statesmen will be back in action on Nov. 4 when they travel to Williamstown, Mass., for the ECAC Championships. The race is set to begin at 11 a.m.