Oneonta
State

ATLANTIC REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP @ GENESEO - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2003
Results - Team / Individual

Oneonta State finished off the 2003 campaign with an 18^th place finish out of 30 teams with 490 points.  Senior captain Dan Verdi led his troops over the muddy 8,000 meter course on a day where all seven Red Dragons ran personal best times.  He placed 70^th in a time of 27:06 in his last collegiate cross country race.  “I am happy for Dan and the guys to finish off the season running this fast,” said head coach Matt LoPiccolo.  “Everyone ran well and it culminated their summer and fall of hard work and dedication.” 

70^th – Dan Verdi, Sr. (27:06 -PR)
93^rd – Joe Melanson, So. (27:28-PR)
112^th – Bryan Reles, Jr. (27:52-PR)
119^th – Ryan Pennell, Fr. (28:02-PR)
120^th – Andy Wahila, So. (28:03-PR)
126^th – Kyle Walcott, So. (28:06-PR)
157^th – Justin Pantalone, Fr. (28:40-PR)




ECAC CHAMPIONSHIP @ TUFTS FARM COURSE - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2003

The Red Dragons kept the pattern of raising the bar this season by placing a school record 7th out of 33 teams at the ECAC Championships with 207 points.  They were led by senior Dan Verdi and sophomore Joe Melanson.  Verdi ran the best race of his career in placing 17th in a time of 27:46 over the hilly 8,000 meter course.  He just missed All-ECAC honors (top 15).  Melanson ran his personal best coming in 26th place, 21 seconds behind Verdi in 28:07.  "I am extremely proud of what Dan (Verdi) and the guys accomplished today," said excited head coach Matt LoPiccolo.  "Mike Schmidt (associate coach) and I were psyched and shocked about the way we ran.  We could not have asked for anything more from these guys today."  Turning in great performances to round out the scoring for Oneonta was junior Bryan Reles (48th - 28:35) and sophomores Kyle Walcott (60th - 28:50) and Andy Wahila (28:56).

17^th – Dan Verdi, Sr. (27:46)
26^th – Joe Melanson, So. (28:07 - PR)
48^th – Bryan Reles, Jr. (28:35)
60^th – Kyle Walcott, So. (28:50)
65^th – Andy Wahila, So. (28:56)
85^th – Ryan Pennell, Fr. (29:17)
112^th – Justin Pantalone, Fr. (29:59)


SUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP @ ONEONTA - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2003

Seniors Brian Suozzo and Dan Verdi led the Red Dragons to their highest finish in the SUNYAC in head coach Matt LoPiccolo's tenure with a 6th place effort with 172 points.  Suozzo finished 22nd and Verdi 31st in times of 27:46 and 28:26, respectively, over the 8,000 meter course at Oneonta's Fortin Town Park.  Junior Bryan Reles and sophomores Joe Melanson and Andy Wahila finished 35th, 45th, and 52nd respectively.  "I am happy that we improved 3 places over last year," commented head coach Matt LoPiccolo.  "However, I think our guys will still have something to prove at Regional's in three weeks."

22nd - Brian Suozzo, Sr. (27:46)
31st - Dan Verdi, Sr. (28:26)
35th - Bryan Reles, Jr. (28:50)
45th - Joe Melanson, So. (29:11)
52nd - Andy Wahila, So. (29:24)
57th - Ryan Pennell, Fr. (29:47)
60th - Justin Pantalone, Fr. (29:56)
69th - Joe Macura, Fr. (30:26)
77th - Rick DeCarr, Fr. (31:03)
82nd - Kyle Walcott, So. (31:49)


UNIVERSITY @ ALBANY INVITATIONAL - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2003

Eight out of fifteen Red Dragons ran personal best times in placing 15th out of 25 teams with 424 points at the most competitive meet of the year.  Seniors Brian Suozzo and Dan Verdi led the way.  Suozzo placed 65th in a time of 27:10 over the 8,000 meter course.  Verdi ran a huge personal best in finishing right behind Suozzo in a time of 27:23.  Junior Bryan Reles ran his best race of the year in placing 110th with a time of 28:07.  Sophomores Joe Melanson and Andy Wahila followed right behind Reles in personal best times of 28:15 and 28:25, respectively.  Freshmen Ryan Pennell and Rick DeCarr stepped up and had great races, as well.  They placed 154th and 158th, respectively, in time of 29:11 and 29:16.  "The training is finally paying off for these guys," commented Head Coach Matt LoPiccolo.  "We are now ready for SUNYAC's next week."

65th - Brian Suozzo, Sr. (27:10)
74th - Dan Verdi, Sr. (27:23 - Personal Best)
110th - Bryan Reles, Jr. (28:07)
115th - Joe Melanson, So. (28:15 - Personal Best)
125th - Andy Wahila, So. (28:25 - Personal Best)
134th - Kyle Walcott, So. (28:45)
154th - Ryan Pennell, Fr. (29:11 - Personal Best)
158th - Rick DeCarr, Fr. (29:16 - Personal Best)
168th - Joe Macura, Fr. (29:34 - Personal Best)
182nd - Justin Pantalone, Fr. (29:54)
186th - Matt Valcik, Jr. (29:57)
194th - Alex Lipsky, Fr. (30:14 - Personal Best)
214th - Matt Durkin, Fr. (31:38)
225th - Anthony Cordero, Jr. (33:09)
234th - Vinny Van Doren, Fr. (34:27 - Personal Best)


HAMILTON COLLEGE INVITATIONAL - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2003
Results - Team / Individual

Oneonta State placed 11^th out of 15 teams with 319 points.  “We rested the top 6 after last week’s great performance at Geneseo,” commented head coach Matt LoPiccolo.  “This allowed the freshmen to step up into scoring positions in an effort to make the SUNYAC team.”  Leading the way was Brian Auer in 59^th in a time of 29:30 over the 8,000 meter course.  Next was Justin Pantalone, who placed 66^th in a time of 29:51.  He was followed by Ryan Pennell, who was 74^th with a time of 30:10.  Rounding out the scoring was Alex Lipsky in 85^th and Joe Macura in 90^th with times of 30:41 and 30:47, respectively.

59^th – Brian Auer, Fr. (29:30)
66^th – Justin Pantalone, Fr. (29:51)
74^th – Ryan Pennell, Fr. (30:10)
85^th – Alex Lipsky, Fr. (30:41)
90^th – Joe Macura, Fr. (30:47)
96^th – Rick DeCarr, Fr. (31:10)
106^th – Matt Valick, Jr. (31:58)
108^th – Matt Durkin, Fr. (32:09)
125^th – Anthony Cordero, Jr. (34:39)
136^th – Vinny Van Doren, Fr. (37:05)


DELHI COLLEGE WEEKDAY 5K - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2003

20th - Alex Lipsky, Fr. (18:32)
30th - Matt Valick, Jr. (19:49)
31st - Alex Randall, Fr. (19:54)
35th - Matt Durkin, Fr. (20:23)
37th - Anthony Cordero, Jr. (20:34)


GENESEO INVITATIONAL - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2003
Results - Team / Individual

The Red Dragons placed 10th out of 16 complete teams with 229 points.  Running his best race of the year thus far was senior Brian Suozzo, who placed 19th in a time of 27:15 over the sloppy 8,000 meter course, which will play host to the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships on November 15th.  "It was a good race for Brian and the team to run well here today," commented head coach Matt LoPiccolo.  "This is probably the best I have seen the men run since I have been here, which gets me and Coach Schmidt excited for later in the season."  Rounding out the top five were senior Dan Verdi who placed 55th in a time of 28:14, sophomore Kyle Walcott, who was just behind Verdi in 60th place (28:19), junior Bryan Reles, who also ran his best race of the year in placing 67th in time of 28:34, and sophomore Joe Melanson, who placed 82nd in a time of 28:44.

19th - Brian Suozzo, Sr. (27:15)
55th - Dan Verdi, Sr. (28:14)
60th - Kyle Walcott, So. (28:19)
67th - Bryan Reles, Jr. (28:34)
82nd - Joe Melanson, So. (28:44)
90th - Andy Wahila, So. (28:54)
112th - Joe Macura, Fr. (29:37)
118th - Ryan Pennell, Fr. (29:44)
121st - Matt Valcik, Jr. (29:46)
124th - Brian Auer, Fr. (29:46)
126th - Justin Pantalone, Fr. (29:54)
136th - Rick DeCarr, Fr. (30:12)
162nd - Matt Durkin, Fr. (31:17)
179th - Anthony Cordero, Jr. (32:57)
190th - Alex Randall, Fr. (34:26)
191st - Vinny Van Doren, Fr. (34:31)


MIT HARRIER CLASSIC @ FRANKLIN PARK - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2003

Oneonta State placed 8th out of 12 teams with 197 points.  They were led by senior Brian Suozzo, who placed 26th in a time of 27:59 over the 8,000 meter course.  "The weather conditions were difficult, but the guys ran tough," commented head coach Matt LoPiccolo.  Running solid races were sophomores Kyle Walcott and Joe Melanson, who placed 44th and 47th in times of 28:31 and 28:33, respectively. 

26th - Brian Suozzo, Sr. (27:59)
35th - Dan Verdi, Sr. (28:24)
44th - Kyle Walcott, So. (28:31)
47th - Joe Melanson, So. (28:33)
59th - Bryan Reles, Jr. (29:05)
69th - Andy Wahila, So. (29:21)
71st - Brian Auer, Fr. (29:37)
78th - Rick DeCarr, Fr. (29:47)
81st - Justin Pantalone, Fr. (30:01)
84th - Ryan Pennell, Fr. (30:09)
93rd - Alex Lipsky, Fr. (30:39)
103rd - Matt Valcik, Jr. (31:37)
108th - Alex Randall, Fr. (32:01)
112th - Matt Durkin, Fr. (32:32)
119th - Anthony Cordero, Jr. (33:32)
124th - Vinny Van Doren, Fr. (35:41)


HARTWICK COLLEGE INVITATIONAL - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2003

The Red Dragons placed 2nd out of 4 teams with 62 points in a low key meet with Hartwick, Delhi, and SUNYIT.  Oneonta State was led by freshmen Joe Macura, Brian Auer, and Rick DeCarr.  The trio covered the tough 4 mile course in 25:12, 25:26, and 25:28 to place 14th, 16th, and 18th, respectively.

14th - Joe Macura, Fr. - 25:12
16th - Brian Auer, Fr. - 25:26
18th - Rick DeCarr, Fr. - 25:28
19th - Ryan Pennell, Fr. - 26:04
25th - Alex Randall, Fr. - 27:33
28th - Matt Durkin, Fr. - 27:50
30th - Anthony Cordero, Jr. - 28:24
36th - Vinny Van Doren, Fr. - 29:48


PLATTSBURGH STATE CARDINAL CLASSIC - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2003

Oneonta State placed 4^th out of 7 teams with 92 points.  “We started to attack after 1 mile with varied success,” commented head coach Matt LoPiccolo.  “Some guys ran well and others have some more work to do, but it’s only September.”  The Red Dragons were led by senior Brian Suozzo, who placed 7^th in a time of 21:55 over the winding 4 mile course.  Sophomore Andy Wahila, who trained in Colorado all summer, had a great race in placing 14^th in a time of 22:52.  The rest of the scoring was rounded out by junior Bryan Reles in 19^th (23:07), and sophomores Kyle Walcott, who also trained in Colorado, and Joe Melanson in 23^rd (23:17) and 30^th (23:41), respectively.

7^th – Brian Suozzo, Sr. – 21:55
14^th – Andy Wahila, So. – 22:52
19^th – Bryan Reles, Jr. – 23:07
23^rd – Kyle Walcott, So. – 23:17
30^th – Joe Melanson, So. – 23:41
31^st – Dan Verdi, Sr. – 23:50
32^nd – Joe Macura, Fr. – 24:01
38^th – Alex Lipsky, Fr. – 24:26
39^th – Ryan Pennell, Fr. – 24:27
40^th – Rick DeCarr, Fr. – 24:27
41^st – Brian Auer, Fr. – 24:44
49^th – Alex Randall, Fr. – 26:13
52^nd – Anthony Cordero, Jr. – 26:37
54^th – Matt Durkin, Fr. – 27:13


ONEONTA STATE EARLY BIRD INVITATIONAL @ FORTIN PARK - SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2003

The Red Dragons opened up the 2003 season at home with Brockport, Cortland, Cortland Alumni, Delhi College, Geneseo, Hartwick College, and Plattsburgh.  They placed 7th overall with 172 points over their new 6,000 meter home course.

21st - Brian Suozzo, Sr - 20:30.3
43rd - Andy Wahila, So - 21:34.3
46th - Kyle Walcott, So - 21:40.6
48th - Bryan Reles, Jr - 21:50.8
60th - Alex Lipsky, Fr - 22:09.3
65th - Matt Valcik, Jr - 22:24.8
66th - Joe Melanson, So - 22:32.8
67th - Joe Macura, Fr - 22:33.0
75th - Rick DeCarr, Fr - 23:06.0
77th - Brian Auer, Fr - 23:21.8
79th - Ryan Pennell, Fr - 23:24.2
90th - Matt Durkin, Fr - 24:29.3
93rd - Anthony Cordero, Jr - 24:56.1
95th - Vinny Van Doren, Fr - 25:20.3