Garcia-Cassani Named DIII Men's Cross Country National Athlete of the Week

2016 Sep 27

SUNY Geneseo junior Isaac Garcia-Cassani was named Division III Men's Cross Country National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA), announced Monday.

Garcia-Cassani was recognized after finishing first out of a field that included 284 runners and eight nationally-ranked teams at the Purple Valley Classic, hosted by Williams (Mass.) on Saturday (Sept. 24).

Geneseo, which entered the meet ranked second in Division III, bested runner-up and third-ranked Williams, along with No. 6 MIT, No. 10 Amherst (Mass.) and No. 19 RPI in the field of 23 teams.

Garcia-Cassani covered the 8-kilometer course with a winning time of 25:24.9, holding off runner-up Mohamed Hussen from Amherst by 1.3 seconds. It was Garcia-Cassani's second-consecutive victory after also placing first at the Oswego Invitational (Sept. 10).

Geneseo will next be in action on Saturday (Oct. 1), hosting the Mike Woods Invitational at Letchworth State Park. The men's race is slated to begin at 12:00 p.m.