CORTLAND, N.Y. – The 2017 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) men's and women's cross country championship is coming up this weekend at Potsdam. For this week's Throwback Thursday, we've decided to showcase the national championship that could have never been.
Geneseo cross country has been a national powerhouse for the greater part of the last two decades. In fact, the men's and women's teams currently sit tied for third in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III cross country rankings.
2017 USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country Rankings
2017 USTFCCCA Men's Cross Country Rankings
In 2005, the Geneseo women's team went all the way bringing home the cross country NCAA Division III national championship title. The Knights faced their biggest opponent before they got there. In typical upstate New York fashion they got hit with a massive snowstorm that almost halted their trip to the national championship in Delaware, OH hosted by Ohio Wesleyan.
The athletes were delayed for a full day as they faced the first of their problems when they had some issues with the bus while in Erie, PA. The team had to head back to New York and get a new bus in Fredonia, restarting their journey the next morning.
The lake effect created an unusual early fall snowstorm, and after avoiding a major accident on the highway, the driver decided to find an alternate route. Heading about fifteen to twenty miles south on the detour they were able to avoid the snow en route to Ohio.
Good teams compete well when things are going well but great teams do well through adversity and the Knights were definitely able to show that. Arriving a day late and missing a day to practice on the course, the ladies defied the odds and went from almost not making it to Ohio to coming out on top as the 2005 NCAA women's cross country national champions.
This year Geneseo is on pace for another post-season appearance. With the SUNYAC men's and women's cross country championships right aroung the corner make sure to following along wiht live updates here, and get your 2017 SUNYAC championship gear with free shipping for a limited time at sunyacstore.com.
