SUNYAC Releases 2024 Men's Cross Country Awards
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC office releases its 2024 men's cross country annual awards as voted on by the conference coaches. Oneonta's Jonthomas Bierman was voted Runner of the Year while Fredonia's Stephen Hallberg is the Rookie of the Year. Cortland was selected as the Coaching Staff of the Year.
Runner of the Year- Jonthomas Bierman, Oneonta
Bierman was the 2024 SUNYAC men's cross country champion, running the 8k course in 26:46.1. With his first place finish, he was named to the first team All-SUNYAC and was inducted into the league's Cross Country Hall of Fame. He placed 18th in the Niagara Region championship to advance to the 2024 NCAA Division III cross country championship where he finished 208th in the highly competitive field.
Rookie of the Year - Stephen Hallberg, Fredonia
Hallberg was the first freshman to cross the line in the 2024 SUNYAC championship meet. He finished the 8k race third overall in a time of 26:56.9. Hallberg is the first Fredonia men's cross country runner to be inducted into the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame on his first attempt. Hallberg also went on to finish 112th out of 170 runners at the 2024 Division III Niagara Region championship.
Coaching Staff of the Year - Cortland
Steve Patrick is the head coach of the Cortland men's cross country team and he is assisted by Chad Dunham, Bob Vidulich and Marissa Formes-Patrick. In 2024, the staff guided their team to it's 15th overall men's cross country team title and first since 2013. Four Red Dragons were recognized on the All-Conference teams after they crossed the line in the top 15. Adam Schreiber led Cortland with a fourth place finish. The team placed 11th out of 22 schools at the 2024 NCAA Division III Niagara Region men's cross country championship.
