Clinton, NY – Sophomore Victoria Hathaway (Stillwater, NY) and senior Adam Merkwan (Meredith, NH) of the Clarkson University Cross Country team each put in strong efforts to help lead the Golden Knights to a strong finish at the Hamilton Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

The Clarkson women finished fifth among 16 teams with 193 points, trailing only Ottawa (22), Hamilton (68), Plattsburgh State (107) and LeMoyne (170), while beating out Oswego State (197), Ithaca (198), Carleton (212), Houghton (230), Utica (257), Mohawk Valley Community College (319), Cazenovia (394), Herkimer Community College (341), Hartwick (373), Wells (397), and SUNYIT (505).

Victoria Hathaway was the leader for the Clarkson women for the fifth straight race, taking 16th among 161 runners with a time of 18:30.8 on the 5,000-meter course, a 5:58 rate per mile. Senior Sarah Governale (Wading River, NY) took 35th in 19:29.4 and freshman Tara Seigle (Poland, NY) was 45th with a time of 19:42.5. Finishing off the scoring for Clarkson were juniors Lindsey McCormick (Gouverneur, NY) and Chelsea Farinacci (Huntington, NY), who both finished in the top 70. Shawnee Olsen (Schenectady, NY) and Dana Schmidt (Johnson City, NY) also finished in the top 100 runners.

The Clarkson men finished fourth among 17 teams with 142 points, trailing only Ithaca (38), Hamilton (51), and Ottawa (75), while outpacing Oswego State (151), Hartwick (189), Plattsburgh State (190), Utica (248), LeMoyne (257), Royal Military College (260), Mohawk Valley Community College (266), SUNYIT (300), Onondaga Community College (402), Houghton (404), Herkimer Community College (476), Cazenovia (508) and Wells (522).

Adam Merkwan led the way for the Knights' men, taking 10th in the race of 177 runners with a time of 26:32.8 over the 8,000-meter course. Merkwan was 21 spots ahead of freshman AJ Beers (Central Square, NY), who took 31st in 27:23.3, but the rest of the Golden Knights scoring group was tightly packed, none more so than freshman Taylor Fenoff (Saratoga Springs, NY), who was one spot behind Beers in 32nd. Senior Ryan Ash (Glens Falls, NY) took 34th in 27:24.5, junior Jacob Dowman (Essex, VT) was 35th in 27:29.3, and Lukas Patrizio (Port Chester, NY) and Austin Holbrook (Corning, NY) claimed 36th and 40th, respectively.