LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Cross Country’s home course was successfully defended by a hometown product at the 2022 MAAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday. Siena fifth year Olivia Lomascolo became the program’s first MAAC Cross Country Individual Champion, leading the way for a pair of second place finishes for the Saints at The Crossings of Colonie in Loudonville.
The Ballston Spa, New York native – who was injured and did not participate in the MAAC Championship meet the last time it was run at The Crossings in 2018 – claimed her fourth straight All-MAAC honors with a decisive ten-second victory in the women’s 6k (21:13.6). The 2022 MAAC Women’s Most Outstanding Runner claimed her second MAAC individual title after winning the 2022 MAAC Indoor Track Women’s 3k Individual Title back in February.
Both the men’s and the women’s programs logged program bests for point totals, with the women posting 46 points and the men tallying 61. Saturday’s results marked the first time in program history that both Siena programs took second place at the same meet. Iona’s men’s team took home its 32nd straight MAAC Championship with seven of the top eight finishers, while Quinnipiac claimed its first MAAC women’s cross country title since 2015.
For the second straight year, senior Brandon Olden (23:53.0) took fourth place and crossed the finish line as the first non-Iona finisher, collecting his third All-MAAC honor. The Chestertown, NY native was joined by senior Aidan Gillooley (12th, 24:38.4), junior Killian McNamee (14th, 24:59.0), and senior Tommy Anderson (15th, 25:02.4) in earning an All-MAAC finish, with Gillooley also taking home the award for the second time in his collegiate career. Four All-MAAC finishers went down as a program best for the men.
The women’s team featured three All-MAAC finishers – all inside the top-eight – with senior Delia McDade Clay (21:31.8) taking fourth place and senior Elaine Atanasova (21:42.4) finishing eighth, with both earning All-MAAC honors for the second time. Freshman Stephanie Queiroz (22:26.3) and sophomore Claire Gardner (22:26.5) finished 16th and 17th to round out the top-five for the women.
Siena saw four runners with rookie eligibility named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team, with Queiroz joining men’s sophomore Jackson Cayward (21st, 25:19.8), freshman Tyler Greene (24th, 25:24.1), and Nathaniel Sletten (34th, 25:41.5).
After concluding full team regular season action, Siena will turn its attention to the 2022 NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, which will take place on Friday, November 11 at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, NY. The Saints will send their top-seven runners from each team to compete, in hopes of qualifying individuals for the 2022 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
Courtesy: Siena
