FOUR SAGE CROSS COUNTRY TEAM RUNNERS HONORED BY EMPIRE 8 WITH RELEASE OF 2019 CROSS COUNTRY ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
Hilton, NY— The Sage Colleges' women's cross country team had a pair of student-athletes honored on Tuesday with the release of the 2019 Empire 8 Women's Cross Country All-Conference Team on Tuesday, while another women's team member and a men's team member were both chosen for the Empire 8 Sportsmanship Team.
Sage's sophomore Kerry Flower (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) was named to the First Team, a first for the Sage women's cross country team. Sophomore Kristin McAlonen (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) earned a spot on the Second Team as well, another first with the pair of Gator student-athletes saluted by the league.
Earlier in the 2019 season, Flower earned three straight citations as the Empire 8 Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week. At the 2019 Empire 8 Championship, Flower finished with an impressive time of 24:46.8 and finished in 10th place. As a rookie, Flower finished in 14th place at the 2018 Empire 8 Championship and became the first Sage women's cross country runner to earn Empire 8 All-Star Honors with a selection to the Second Team. McAlonen picked 18th place in 25:37.1 at the 2019 championship and as a rookie finished in 45th place at the league championship.
The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen and sportsmen. Also honored with a selection to the Sportswomen Team was senior team captain Amanda Jones (West Sand Lake, NY/Columbia), while Holden Maynard (Schenectady, NY/Mohanasen) finished was chosen to the Men's Sportsmen Team.
At the 2019 Empire 8 Championship, Jones posted a time of 25:50.5 and placed 24th, while Maynard finished in 21st place with a time of 28:28.1 in his first Empire 8 Championship race.