Soderholm continues torrid pace to establish new PSC men's 8K record at St. Lawrence University

Men's 8K:  In what was the deepest and fastest field of collegiate XC racing the coaching staff has seen since 2010 NAIA Nationals in Vancouver, Washington, 107 competitors eclipsed the 30-minute barrier that the Paul Smith's men's program sets as a divide between the talented runners who are dedicated to the training required to be among the top scorers in a collegiate meet and those who enjoy taking part in endurance training, competing on a collegiate team, and likewise enjoyed the same aspects of the high school program too.  We serve both sets of competitors at Paul Smith's College, and truly admire the contributions these combined  endurance athletes bring to the table.  Not everyone has the talent nor the drive to push themselves to the sub-30 minute barrier, but they can enjoy running collegiate cross country with all the same level of enjoyment being on the collegiate team. 

With that being stated, Eliot Soderholm (Reston, VA/South Lakes HS) set a new program record in the 8K distance for the men's program with a time of 26:58, being the first Paul Smith's College athlete to eclipse 27-minutes at this distance.  Eliot did as planned and ran among the lead pack, which was incredibly deep with primarily runners from Queens University (Kingston, Ontario), Middlebury College and St. Lawrence University as well as LeMoyne College ~ an NCAA Division II program.  Soderholm averaged 5:26 per mile over the 8K, and finished the first two miles in 10:30.  He was about 3:30 faster than he was a year ago over the same course. 

Bryce Shannon (Sparrow Bush, NY/Port Jervis HS) broke the 30-minute barrier for his first time, running the course in 29:36 to finish in 93^rd place.  Matt Matis (Susquehanna, PA/Susquehanna Community HS) finished in 32:07 taking about 1:30 off his PR time for the 8K distance.  Aidan Minihan (Newark, DE/Tatnall School) finished in 38:09, and he was about 1:30 faster than his time over the same course in 2024.  Tim James (Lancaster, MA/Minuteman Regional Vo-Tech HS) finished in 41:44 to complete the scoring five for Paul Smith's. 

Noak Keys LeRoy, NY/LeRoy HS) finished in 44:59 taking about 5 minutes off his 8K time over the same course from 2024.  Devin Stalnaker (Westernville, NY/Rome Free Academy) rounded out the Paul Smith's College men's runners finishing in 47:28.  Stalnaker has been improving dramatically in his first year of running collegiate cross country, as he took off about 4:30 from his PR over the 8K distance in a race held two weeks ago.  It is so incredible to see all these athletes working hard to improve from day to day and week to week this season.  We have had incredible training conditions thus far, and the team works hard to improve together. 

Women's 6K:  Despite the lack of a complete scoring team (five finishers are needed from a team to be among the scoring teams, the trio of returning runners are working hard together to improve in their practices, and meanwhile awaiting the return of some of their injured teammates so they can once again have a full scoring team later this season.  

Chloe Freund (Clinton, NY/Clinton HS) was the top finisher from Paul Smith's in the 6K distance for the women with a time of 29:27, followed by Joanna Kerchner (Reading, PA/Berks Catholic HS) in 29:50.  Brooklynn Shumway (Bloomingdale, NY/Saranac Lake HS) finished in 30:13, not far from her Bobcat peers.  This was the first 6K race for the women, as the two previous collegiate events have been the traditional HS distance of 5K to get the early season off the ground.  The races going forward will all be 6K events.  

Much like the men's 8K, this was an extremely talented and deep field, led by Middlebury College as they overtook last year's winners ~ Queens University by a close score of 27 to 30.  Host St. Lawrence University placed third with 80 points, followed by LeMoyne with 131. 

The Paul Smith's College runners will be taking part in a 10K and Half Marathon Fun Run as part of the Family Weekend festivities next Saturday, starting at the entrance to the college (State Routes 86 & 30) with an 8 AM start.  The program started this relaxed distance run in the midst of the COVID pandemic in September 2020, given the restrictions of the time and limited opportunities to compete collegiately.  Family members have been fully involved in supporting their collegiate runners, with some parents and siblings taking part in the run itself. 

The following weekend, the team will be headed to Pottersville to race at the Word of Life campus in the typical collegiate distances with the women starting at 10:15 in the 6K followed by the men's 8K starting at 11:15.  It is expected that most of the members of the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) will be racing at Word of Life on October 4^th.

            Women's Finishers: 118                   Men's Finishers: 165

Women's Team Scores                                 Men's Team Scores

1. Middlebury 27                                    1.  Queens U. 30
2. Queens U. 30                                      2.  Middlebury 51
3. St. Lawrence 80                                  3.  St. Lawrence 66
4. LeMoyne 131                                      4.  LeMoyne 112
5. SUNY Plattsburgh 164                       5.  Clarkson 148
6. Norwich 176                                       6.  Norwich 202
7. U of Ottawa 189                                 7.  U of Ottawa 204
8. Clarkson 198                                       8.  Plattsburgh State 243
9. SUNY Canton                                     9.  Paul Smith's 272

Inc. Clinton CC, Mohawk Valley,      10. SUNY Canton 298

Paul Smith's, Potsdam State              11. Potsdam State 298

                                                            Inc. Clinton CC, Mohawk Valley CC, Carleton U,

Ottawa Lions Club

Official Meet Results: 33rd Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational