Jamesville, N.Y. – Senior Chris Davitt (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem) finished in third place to lead the Le Moyne College men's cross country team to a seventh-place finish at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships on Sunday afternoon at Jamesville Beach State Park. Senior Mya Walters (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) led the women's team to a ninth-place finish by crossing the line 34th.
 
Davitt ties the program's record for the best individual finish by a Dolphin at the NE10 Championship with his third-place finish. Phil Matthews was the first Dolphin to place third by doing so in 1996 (Le Moyne's first year in the conference) and Rufus McDowell followed the next year with a third-place finish of his own.

On the men's side, American International College won its fourth conference championship in the last six years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019) with 39 points after having five of the top 17 runners, including three of the top seven. Stonehill College finished in second place for the fifth time in six years, and in the top-two for the 18th straight year, with 79 points after two Skyhawks placed in the top nine. Southern Connecticut State University, last year's champion, was third with 85 points, while Franklin Pierce University was four points back in fourth. Southern New Hampshire University recorded 96 points to round out the top five teams. The Dolphins registered 208 points to finish in seventh place, their best finish since 2007. Ezra Mutai from American International won the individual conference championship with a time of 26:03.5 to give the Yellow Jackets their 11th straight individual champion.
 
Stonehill College won its 11th consecutive conference championship on the women's side and its 18th in the last 20 years with 36 total points after having five of the top 12 runners. Southern New Hampshire University moved up four places from last year to place second with 74 points. Saint Anselm College jumped five spots from a year ago to place third with 134 points. Adelphi University finished fourth with 142 points, while Assumption College placed fifth with 147 points. The Dolphins registered a ninth-place finish after totaling 241 points. Assumption's Kialeigh Marston won the individual conference championship by registering a time of 23:27.0.
 
By virtue of their finishes, Le Moyne swept Saint Rose for the two cross country points in the year-long "Upstate Challenge" between the Dolphins and Golden Knights. Through six of the 17 sports, the Dolphins and Golden Knights are tied, 3-3.
 
In the men's race, Davitt earned his second straight Northeast-10 Conference All-Conference First Team honors after navigating the eight-kilometer course in 27:23.3 to place third among the 146 competitors. Davitt, who placed sixth last year, is just the third Dolphin to earn back-to-back NE10 First Team honors, joining Matt Ilardi (1997 & 1998) and Rufus McDowell (1996 & 1997). Freshman Benjamin Dertinger (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) was the second Dolphin to finish by placing 41st in 29:06.2. Senior Nick Taylor (Endicott, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) posted a time of 29:19.9 to place 47th, while sophomore Ben Zinger (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) placed 74th, an improvement of 37 places from last year, with a time of 30:37.4. Junior Brandon Brusehaber (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) rounded out the team's five scorers by placing 76th, an improvement of 63 spots from last year, in 30:39.6.
 
Walters registered her best finish at the NE10 Championships with her 34th-place finish, which came in a time of 25:42.7 over the six-kilometer course. Freshman Maggie Casey (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon) was four spots back in 38th place in 25:56.0, while sophomore Samantha Pellegrini (Loudonville, N.Y./Colonie) recorded a time of 26:20.1 to place 46th, improvements of 33 spots from last year. Freshman Chloe Hanson (Saugerties, N.Y./Saugerties) tallied a time of 26:39.9 to place 55th, while sophomore Brianna Walker (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) finished 100th in 28:46.2, an improvement of 37 places from last year.
 
Le Moyne is back in action on Saturday, November 9 at the NCAA East Regional at Belmont Plateau Park in Philadelphia, Pa.