St. Lawrence’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams hosted the 27th annual Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational Saturday, Sept. 22.
Dadley Ogetti ’20 won the individual title with a time of 25:41.71 for the 8K. The men’s team managed to place four runners in the top five. The famous Nick Vielhauer ‘20 placed second for SLU with a time of 25:54.45, followed by Logan Mancuso ’19 who placed fourth and Jonathan Mitchell ’19 who placed fifth.
The Saints scored a total of just 19 points to easily outscore the other six competing teams. Norwich followed SLU in second place with a total of 47 points and Plattsburgh came in third place with 66 points.
After the race, Mancuso explained the family oriented dynamic of the team especially during this race by saying, “It has always been a great team event because many family members come to watch, and we have a big potluck after. It’s always fun talking to teammates’ parents and seeing where everyone gets their quirks from.”
Looking forward into the season, Mancuso said, “our number one goal is to get to the national race in Wisconsin. We missed it last year, so everyone has been working hard and getting pumped to show that we are a national caliber team.”
The women’s team managed to place two runners in the top five. Mary Terhune ’21 finished the women’s 6K in third place with a time of 23:03.29. Terhune was followed closely by her teammate, Leah Livernois ’20, who finished in fifth place with a time of 23:08.23.
Like the men’s team, the women’s team also scored a total of 19 points which allowed them to comfortably win the six team meet. Clarkson finished in second place with a total of 55 points, and SUNY Plattsburgh finished in third with a total of 70 points.
After competing, Terhune said, “I think that Saturday’s race caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting to feel so good. A mile into the race I thought let’s just roll with it and see what I can do with this. In the end, I ended up feeling smooth and relaxed!”
Terhune is channeling this effective, calm and relaxed mindset toward her goals in the upcoming season. She added, “as far as my goals, I’m working on feeling calm and focused in races. My best races come when I’m calm and relaxed mentally and physically. A clear mind while racing is key to success in my opinion. Also, shooting to win leagues as a team!”
Hopefully this team oriented mind-set shared among both the men’s and women’s teams will send the Saints to victory in Wisconsin this season.