Albany, NY—Russell Sage College's department of athletics announced their award winners for the 2021-2022 academic year at the annual awards banquet.  In addition to several honors bestowed for athletic and academic excellence, Sage also selected the Gator of the Year Award for the department's 21 varsity sports for the 2021-2022 year.

RSC's men's cross country runner junior Joe Degiorgio (Troy, NY/Troy) was honored as the Gator of the Year in men's cross country.

Head Men's Cross Country Coach Nick Jones remarked "Joe made his mark on Sage early and often throughout the cross country season." Jones added, "In his first year as a Gator, he led the team in every race he competed in. He continually set high goals for himself and held himself accountable when races didn't go quite his way. He finished the season on a strong note that he was able to take with him into the indoor and outdoor track seasons."

Degiorgio led the Gators in all eight meets this past fall. While competing at the 2021 Empire 8 championship he finished in 25th place. He also ran a 6k in 22:08.7 at the Oneonta State Invitational and took home 14th place. He also competed at the 2021 NCAA Regionals, and was the leading runner at the meet with a time of 30:02.3 to finish in 127th place in the highly competitive field.

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