By Colleen Gonzalez
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Senior Galo Vasquez finished 17th overall with an eight-kilometer time of 26:18.7 to help lead the State University of New York at New Paltz men’s cross country team to a sixth-place finish of 14 teams at the Saratoga Cross Country Invitational hosted by RPI on Saturday morning.
The Hawks earned a total of 165 points. Host RPI took top honors with 23 points while SUNY Delhi and Hamilton College rounded out the top three with 93 points and 99 points, respectively.
“We had solid performances across the board,” said head coach Mike Trunkes. “Barrett Celecki has stepped up big this week and Jack Wilson had a good rebound race from Rowan. Overall the guys ran well and we had good performances from our top five.”
Sophomore Jack Wilson finished 39th overall with a time of 27:05.3 while juniors Stephen Smith and Barrett Celecki earned 50th and 53rd-place, clocking in at 27:37.6 and 27:43.8, respectively.
Seniors Josh Korn [27:52.8, 59th] and Ian Detweiler [28:03.8, 67th] were the next New Paltz runners to cross the line while sophomore Thomas Rizzo (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury)[28:49.7, 92nd], sophomore Alex Court [29:02.3, 97th], senior Joe Richards{29:04.8, 100th], freshman Carlos Ramos [30:51.9, 135th], and sophomore Aidan Klein [31:15.5, 142nd] rounded out the New Paltz field.