WASHINGTON – The SUNYIT men's cross country team captured its second straight North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship, which was hosted by Gallaudet University at Kenilworth Park Saturday.  The Wildcats won with a team score of 36 points after having three of the top four runners along with a total of five runners finish in the top 17 of the 83-runner field.

SUNY Cobleskill placed second for the second straight season, finishing with 83 points.  Morrisville State College and Penn State Abington each recorded 86 points, with Abington taking third place and Morrisville fourth based on NCAA tiebreakers.  Penn State Berks rounded out the top five with a team score of 148.  Rounding out the rest of the 12-team field was: Gallaudet University (6^th, 181 points); Keuka College (7^th, 200 points); Cazenovia College (8^th, 211 points); Penn College (9^th, 226 points); Wells College (10^th, 246 points); Lancaster Bible College (11^th, 252 Points); and Bryn Athyn College (12^th, Did not have enough runners to qualify for a team finish).

Individually, Penn State Abington junior Alexander Kane (Doylestown, Pa.) captured his second career NEAC Runner of the Year honor after winning the eight-kilometer championship race with a time of 27:18.8, which also placed him on the NEAC All-Conference First Team.  Kane, who was both the NEAC Runner and Rookie of the Year in 2012, capped off a phenomenal season in which he won three races while finishing in the top 10 in three others en route to earning six NEAC Runner of the Week awards.

SUNYIT took home the next two individual awards, as freshman Greg Bogdan (Broadalbin, N.Y.) earned the NEAC Rookie of the Year award while Bill Tylutki was named the NEAC Coach of the Year. Bogdan claimed the honor after being the first rookie runner to cross the finish line with a time of 27:47.7 that placed him fourth overall behind Kane and senior teammates Jordan Sirtoli (West Winfield, N.Y.) and Cody Russell (Fonda, N.Y.).  Bogdan, who earned a NEAC Runner of the Week selection on the season, also landed on the NEAC All-Conference First Team after his performance. 

Tylutki was selected by his peers for the second straight year and third time in his career after guiding the Wildcats to another excellent season.  In addition to the successful title defense, the Wildcats also won a pair of invitational events while garnering three other top-five team finishes.

Below are the NEAC All-Conference First Team, Second Team and Third Team selections, which were determined based on finish times at the championship race with the top seven finishers making up the first team, followed by the 8th-14th finishers on the second team and the 15th-21st finishers on the third team.

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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has fourteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville State College, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D'Youville College (M Volleyball), Hilbert College (M Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Penn State Altoona (M Volleyball) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf).  The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of men's and women's tennis.