ECAC/IC4A Preview
This Friday, 35 teams will descend on Van Cortlandt’s historic crushed limestone trails for the 113th IC4A and 39th ECAC Championship.
The meet will serve many as a preview for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and for many others as the final chance to tune the engine before their conference championships.
ECAC Championship
The women’s championship race covers a fast 6000m course features only one hill as it approaches the 3k mark halfway through the race. Spectators can enjoy about five thousand meters of viewing that overlooks the start and finish.
Women’s Teams Participating:
Albany, American, Binghamton, Bucknell, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Fairfield, Fordham, George Mason, Harvard, Iona, James Madison, Lafayette, Lehigh, LIU, Loyola (Md.), Manhattan, Marist, Monmouth, New Hampshire, Princeton, Richmond, Rider, Seton Hall, Siena, St. Francis (NY), St. John's, St. Joseph's (Pa), St. Peter's, Stony Brook, UMass Amherst, UMass Lowell, Wagner, and Yale.
A Year Ago…
The 2021 race saw a tight battle between Columbia, Siena, and Stony Brook. Only 21 points separated the three schools of the Empire State last year and between them, only two athletes have graduated since their meeting last fall.
“The ECAC meet is a really exciting meet for us this year. The field is as deep as ever, it’s a regional preview opportunity, and a great chance to set up a successful conference meet in two weeks. I think we have a great group ready to go who will certainly have their hands full with the field assembled on Friday. We’re looking for a top 5 finish and hopefully can continue to build momentum deeper into championship season.”
-John Kenworthy, Head Track and Cross Country Coach, Siena College
IC4A Championship
The men face a similarly fast race that will mimic much of the 10k course that will appear in November. This year’s field dwarfs the 2021 race featuring nearly three times the number of teams in attendance.
Men’s Teams Participating:
Albany, American, Binghamton, Bucknell, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Fairfield, Fordham, George Mason, Harvard, Iona, Lafayette, Lehigh, LIU, Loyola (Md.), Manhattan, Marist, Monmouth, Princeton, Quinnipiac, Richmond, Rider, Seton Hall, Siena, St. Francis (NY), St. Joseph's (P.), St. Peter's, Stony Brook, UMass Lowell, Wagner, and Yale
A Year Ago…
Last year this race fell after the Regional Championship and followed a much harder course than the one we’ll see Friday. In that Columbia again had a big day winning the men’s race by a landslide with 36 points. The battle for second was a close one between Monmouth (69 points) and Manhattan College (78 Points).
This year could be a very different year with such a large field and some of the highest ranked teams across three regions representing.
The IC4A meet this year is an important one for the men's team as it is our final tune up before we head into the championship part of the season.
Getting to race on what we will be our NCAA regional course against one of the more competitive fields that the IC4A's has put together in the last few years has us excited and eager to race on Friday.
-Andy Ronan, Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach, Stony Brook University
We’re definitely looking forward to Friday. May rest one or two, but our top guys are racing. Good to see how we stack up to some of the top teams in the Northeast… Definitely a good measuring stick to see where we’re at
-Joe Stasi, Head Track & Field and Cross Country Coach, Wagner College