GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart and William Smith Colleges cross country teams will host the 18th annual Cross Country Only Conference Championships at Seneca Lake State Park Saturday, Oct. 14. The women's 6-kilometer race is set to begin at 11 a.m. with the men's 8-kilometer race to follow at noon.
 
The conference championship meet was founded by former William Smith Head Cross Country Coach Jack Warner in 2005 for schools that sponsor cross country, but not track and field. This year's CCOC field will feature Hobart and William Smith, Clarkson, Keuka, Morrisville State, Paul Smith's, SUNY Canton, SUNY Erie, and Wells.
 
In the women's race, William Smith is the defending champion, winning the 2022 title by 56 points over runner-up Morrisville State. Heron senior Ainsley Woods is the defending individual champion. She posted a winning time of 24:38 last season, finishing just shy of 30 seconds ahead of teammate Abigail Palin '23.
 
In addition to Woods, this year's William Smith squad also returns top 20 finishers in junior Rebecca Barr (8th), junior Abigail Cole (10th), senior Kayleigh Aquino (14th), sophomore Talya Peters (16th), sophomore Lillian Morrell (18th), and junior Bethany Poirier (20th).
 
On the men's side, Clarkson has won five straight CCOC team titles. Four of the top five individual finishers, including Hobart's Jonathan Garcia who was the winner with a time of 28:01.8, have graduated. The top returning finisher is Morrisville State sophomore Nasir King, who placed fourth in 28:18.8.
 
Hobart's top returning runner is sophomore Sean Mucheru, who finished ninth with a time of 29:09.5. Statesmen senior Henry Loudon (11th), sophomore James Nelson (12th), and sophomore Erik Nebel (13th) also finished in the top 20 last season.