Wes Burkit earns 2nd Team All American, leading the Women's XC Team to a 7th place Finish

Women's 6K and Men's 8K

USCAA National Championships – Chesapeake, VA

11 November 2022

The Paul Smith's College Cross Country Team had a successful morning in Chesapeake, Virginia at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association's (USCAA) National Championships, returning with one student earning All American honors and the men's team finishing in fourth place for the first time since 2015 in Lakeland, FL. 

First Year student, Wesley Burkit placed tenth overall in 26:00 to earn Second Team All American honors in the women's 6K event.  Despite the humidity hovering around 90% and 72 degree temperatures, the Paul Smith's College runners were able to overcome the late season warm conditions that should typically favor collegiate runners who train in warmer conditions that students coming from the Adirondacks.  Burkit was in 12^th position after the first mile, and over the next 2.7 miles, Wes was able to close the gap on the next two competitors.  

Ellen Haas finished second for the Bobcats in a personal best of 27:07 in 18^th place.  Although All American honors go to the first 14 finishers, Ellen's time was almost 1:30 faster than her time from a year ago when she finished 14^th to earn Second Team All American honors.  Haas continued to improve through the 2022 season, achieving faster and faster times. 

Melody Ascioti was the third Bobcat to finish in 31:17 in 45^th place overall, followed by Ellie Judice in 53^rd place with a time of 33:18.  Kianna Hanson rounded out the team scoring with a time of 35:08.  The women's team finished in 7^th place overall with 138 points, just six points back from 6^th place Johnson and Wales – Charlotte. 

SUNY ESF won the women's race with an outstanding team performance, scoring 17 points, followed by Christendom College from Virginia in 86 points, followed by Bluefield State (WV) with 94 points. 

Men's 8K Results:  The Paul Smith's College men's team placed fourth with 110 points led by first year student Ryan Chiari who ran the 8 Kilometer event in 31:53, placing 26^th.  Senior captain Zack Sprott – Scribner finished close behind in 31:54 in 27^th place, and Carson Wohlers was the third Bobcat to cross the finish line in 33:12.  For Wohlers, this was a personal best by over 35 seconds.  

Alex Cameron finished nearly a minute back in 34:11 in 39^th place, followed by fellow senior, Issoufou Garba-Hama in 34:14.  Issoufou ran an awesome race, as he surpassed his previous best by over 1:15 and entered the Bobcats top five for the first time in his collegiate career.  

Nate Shader placed 44^th with a time of 34:24, followed by Logan Krahn in 35:36.  Axel Linde finished in 65^th place in 38:20, shaving nearly 3 minutes off his personal best over the 8K distance.

Coach Jim Tucker was especially pleased to see these three athletes especially have breakthrough performances at the USCAA Nationals after the hard work they have put in this season.  So much of the actual performance on race day is mental, as one has to have confidence in their ability to carry through with the pace established in training over the full race distance and remain focused on the task at hand.  Wohlers, Garba-Hama and Linde have all demonstrated that they could shave off sizable time over the 8K distance, but individually they had to believe in themselves on race day.  

This is especially important as some of the Bobcats did not run to their potential due to nagging injuries and illness, and this became an important event to see others step forward.  The men's team placed fourth with 110 points, the team's best finish since 2015.  SUNY ESF won the National Championship with 24 points, followed by Johnson and Wales – Charlotte with 75 and Bluefield State (WV) with 95. 

Team Scores – Women                                 Team Scores – Men

1. SUNY ESF  17                                           1.  SUNY ESF  24

2. Christendom Coll 86                                  2.  Johnson & Wales - Charlotte 75

3. Bluefield State 94                                      3.  Bluefield State 95

4. D'Youville 103                                           4.  Paul Smith's College 110

5. Albany Pharmacy 125                                5.  Penn State – Scranton 124

6. Johnson & Wales – Charlotte 132                6.  NHTI 129

7. Paul Smith's 138                                        7.  Vermont Tech 150

8. NHTI 185                                                   

Finishers:  62 Women                                   Finishers:  86 Men