Lakers Cross Country Concludes Season at Nationals

STANLEY PARK, M.A. - The Lakers Cross Country teams traveled to Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts on Saturday, November 5th for the NJCAA Division III cross country national championships.

Freshman Leah Lloyd (Macedon, N.Y./ Palmyra-Macedon) highlighted the event for the Lakers, earning All-American honors and a 6th place finish (20:01.53). The race marks the end of Lloyd's cross-country career with the Lakers; highlighted by a Region III Championship (2021), Mid-State Athletic Conference Championship (2021), and 2x All-American honors (2021-22). Lloyd also breaks her own record for the fastest 5K time of 20:14.46 (2021) by a Laker, a feat she completed at last year's national championships at Georgia Military College. 

"It's not everyday that you get the opportunity to coach a two-time X/C All-American, but I was very luck when Leah decided to come to FLCC", stated head coach Jayden Donahue, "she has a lot of natural talent and drive and it's clear that she has a love of running that I hope will be life-long".

Lloyd completes one of the most decorated women's cross country careers and will go down as one of the best runners the program has seen yet.

Sophomore Ericka Moody (Lyons, N.Y./ Lyons) would also complete her last cross country race as a Laker. Moody would finish the 5K course with a time of 31:05.65, running in her first national championship as a Laker. Head coach Donahue had only praise for Moody and her progression, "normally a 200m/400m runner, she decided to run X/C last season to stay in shape for track. She came out for the team again this season and literally blasted her times from a year ago, finishing with a personal best overall of 31:05 at nationals".

Lloyd will return to the track & field team for the Spring 2023 season, while Moody will hit the court this Winter for the Lakers women's basketball team, along with track & field in the Spring.

Also for the Lakers, MacKenzie Ferris (Spencerport, N.Y./ The Harley School) earned the second-best finish at 70th place (25:57.86).

For the men, the Lakers completed a 13th-place finish as a team out of 19 total. Freshman Michael Oberdorf (Newark, N.Y./ Newark) earned the top finish for the Lakers, placing 46th (29:39.40). The race marked the final race for sophomore John Zimmerman (Middlesex, N.Y./ Marcus Whitman), finishing 64th with a time of 30:25.57. For the Lakers, Zimmerman stepped up to lead by example for his team, "JT completed a season-best finish of 29:38 at nationals, and took on a un-official team captain role, consistent working with the team on motivation and strategy", an asset the Lakers will truly miss heading into 2023.

Sophomore Jacob DiGiovanni (Waterloo, N.Y./ Waterloo) completed his final race, completing the 8k course in 31:52.06. DiGiovanni, a top-5 runner for the Lakers all season will transfer to RIT next year, hoping to continue his cross country career and pursue a degree in Engineering. Donahue was quick to acknowledge sophomore Jake Williams (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./ Honeoye Falls-Lima) who did not travel with the team to nationals, "he has been a great addition to the team, always showing up and putting in the work".

Other finishers on the men's side for the Lakers included...

Jackson McManus (Rochester, N.Y./ Greece Arcadia), 83rd, 31:43.28

Aiden Lanse (Newark, N.Y./ Newark), 105th, 32.56.06

Justin Luna (Belmont, N.Y./ Belmont Preparatory), 123rd, 34:22.46

Noah Mattison (Marion, N.Y./ Marion), 46:38.83

The race also marked the final of the season for the Lakers cross country teams, both of which will lose key contributors heading into the 2023 season. Donahue reflected on his teams after completing his 3rd year as head coach, "I would say we had some success, but this gave us time to learn what we need to do to prepare for the 2023 season".

The Lakers will return 5 on the men's side, and 1 on the women's side, all of which were in the top-7 on the team throughout the year. Donahue will plan to continue his recruitment efforts for both squads, and begin preperation for the 2023 season.

Check out photos of the meet, courtesy of the NJCAA, with the links below.

Women's race: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/xc/2022-23/photos/0002/index

Men's race: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/xc/2022-23/photos/0003/index