LANCASTER, Pa. – The SUNY Polytechnic Institute Wildcats claimed their fourth straight North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Men’s Cross Country title after posting a team score of 34 points during the championship race, which was held on the campus of Lancaster Bible College Saturday. 

The Wildcats had their top-five point-getters all finish within the top 12 to help successfully defend their title once again.  Leading the way was senior Joseph Acey (Forestport, N.Y.) with a second-place finish on the day.  Sophomore Christopher Bouchard (Latham, N.Y.) and senior John Hohl (Webster, N.Y.) followed closely behind after finishing in fifth and sixth place, respectively.  Junior Oliver Crain (Syracuse, N.Y.) placed ninth and sophomore Derek Smith (Rochester, N.Y.) placed 12th to round out Poly’s top-five finishers. 

Bouchard, a first-year runner for Poly, went on to share NEAC Rookie of the Year honors with Penn College freshman Josh Velez (Lewistown, Pa.).  Both runners also landed on the NEAC All-Conference First Team following top-seven individual finishes at the championship, with Velez placing seventh after also earning a NEAC Runner of the Week honor earlier in the season. 

Individually, Morrisville State College senior Byron Evans (Cazenovia, N.Y.) sped through the eight-kilometer course in a time of 26:43.07 to capture first place and outdistance the 101-runner field by nearly 23 seconds.  His claim of the individual title also led to his selection as the NEAC Runner of the Year, capping off a fantastic season in which he garnered three NEAC Runner of the Week honors.  

SUNY Poly’s Bill Tylutki and Penn State Abington’s Jose Rodriguez shared NEAC Coach of the Year honors following a vote by their peers.  Tylutki earned his fourth straight honor following another successful title defense while also seeing eight of his runners land on the All-Conference Team.  Rodriguez led his team to a runner-up finish at championships behind 67 team points, while guiding four of his seven runners to spots on the All-Conference Team.  

Following SUNY Poly and Penn State Abington in the team standings was SUNY Cobleskill in third with 79 points.  Morrisville State College placed fourth with 104 points, Penn College placed fifth with 112 points, and Wells College placed sixth with 183 points to round out the top-half of the 12-team field.  Full results can be found here. 

Please click here to view a PDF of the 2016 NEAC All-Conference First Team, Second Team and Third Team selections were also announced after being 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.  The selections can be found below. 

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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 Morrisville State College, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, 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 field hockey and men’s and women’s tennis.