Bird's Eye View - 2019 Men's Cross Country

After taking second place in the Empire 8 Championship in 2018, the Cardinals had high expectations for the fall of 2019.  With speed and experience throughout the roster, including the reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, head coach Mike Henchen was poised to lead Fisher to another successful campaign.

Here are the top moments from Fisher’s season:

Cardinals Race in First 2019 Contest: Cardinals Host Inaugural Fisher - Rodenbeck Invitational

The St. John Fisher College men's cross country team kicked off its season at home on Friday night as the Cardinals hosted the First Annual Fisher-Rodenbeck Invitational.  The team finished fourth overall with 119 points, as Geneseo took first place with a total of 27 points.
 
The Cardinals were paced by sophomore, Andrew Ford.  The reigning Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year finished ninth overall with a final time of 20:36.1.
 
Senior Bernard Daoust trailed shortly behind after he finished the 6000-meter race in 20:54.5, good for 19th place.  Grant Stokoe came in 23rd for Fisher as the sophomore finished in 21:02.7.
 
The Cardinals averaged a team time 21:28.4 while the first place Geneseo averaged 20:20.4.
 
Fisher hits the course again on Saturday, September 7 when the Cardinals travel to Clinton, NY to race in the Hamilton Short Course Invite.

Men's Cross Country Competes In The Hamilton Short Course Invite

The St. John Fisher College men's cross country team hit the course on Saturday for the 5000-meter race at the Hamilton Short Course Invite. The Cardinals finished in ninth place, while Roberts Wesleyan paced the competition.

Sophomore Andrew Ford led the way for the Cardinals as his final time of 16:04.8 won him 20th place overall. His 5:11 mile pace was just 11 seconds off the leader's average.

He was followed by senior Bernard Daoust who finished 37th overall after he crossed the finish line in 16:23:7. Freshman Brandon Nicosia finished next for the Cardinals as he raced a final time of 16:53.8, good for 66th place.

As a team, the Cardinals averaged a time of 16:51.7, just over a minute behind the first place Red Hawks of Roberts Wesleyan.

Daoust Paces Men's Cross Country at Mike Woods Invite

The St. John Fisher College men's cross country team returned from a one-week hiatus as the Cardinals secured a 10th place finish in the annual Mike Woods Invite hosted by SUNY Geneseo.  The Knights took first overall while Ithaca College finished in second place.  The College at Brockport rounded out the top three with 112 total points in the 8k race.

Senior Bernard Daoust was the top finisher for Fisher after crossing the finish line with a time of 27:12.2 to claim 43rd place.  Sophomore Andrew Ford was next to complete the event for head coach Mike Henchen's squad as he took 52nd in the standings behind a mark of 27:32.2.  Grant Stokoe finished 66th (27:35.5.) while Brandon Nicosia was 96th on the day (28:11.5).

Ford Wins Highlander Invite as Men's Cross Country Takes Second Place

The St. John Fisher College men's cross country team had its best meet of the season on Saturday as the Cardinals had two runners place in the top 10 and finished in second place at the Highlander Invite.

Sophomore Andrew Ford, who also set a Fisher record on Houghton's home course, won the event after a personal best time of 25:32.7.  Ford's time was four seconds ahead of the runner-up pace and was the top mark for any Fisher runner this season.

Senior Bernard Daoust claimed 10th place on the day after completing the 8k race with a time of 26:14.6.  Grant Stokoe had a strong performance and took 13th on the leaderboard (26:20.3) while Brandon Nicosia and Bogdan Rozvora finished in 34th and 35th place, respectively.

Ford Named Runner of the Week by Empire 8

Ford earned his second conference award of the season with a first-place finish at Houghton's Highlander Invite on Saturday. The sophomore won the 8k event by four seconds with a personal best time of 25:32.7. The time was the top mark by any Fisher runner this season and set a new program record on Houghton's home course. 
 
The Clinton native led the Cardinals to second-place at the Invite, their highest finish of the year. Ford and Fisher will look to carry the momentum of this past weekend's race up to the North Country as they head to St. Lawrence University in Canton to race in the Ronald C. Hoffman Invite at 11 a.m. on Saturday. 

Men's Cross Country Wins ESF Mighty Oak Invite with Five Top-Ten Finishes

The St. John Fisher College men's cross country team dominated the competition at the ESF Mighty Oak Invite as the team placed first as five Cardinals made top-ten finishes. 

Andrew Ford crossed the finish line first for the Cardinals as the sophomore finished the 5000 meter race in 16:32.6 and posted a third place finish. The reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Year followed 21 seconds behind the first place finisher after he set his mile pace at 5:20. 

Following right behind Ford was his classmate Grant Stokoe who crossed the end line in 16:41.3 and paced a 5:23 mile, good for fourth place. 

Senior Bernard Daost rounded out the competition's top five racers as he had a final time of 16:51.3 with a mile pace of 5:26. 

Following in the top ten were freshmen Brandon Nicosia, who placed seventh, and Bogdan Rozvora, who placed ninth. 

Men's Cross Country Takes Fourth In Empire 8 Championship

The St. John Fisher College men's cross country team completed its 2019 conference season on Saturday as the Cardinals hosted the Empire 8 Championship. The team finished fourth overall while two Cardinals made top-ten finishes in the 8,000 meter race.
 
Andrew Ford paced the Cardinals as his time of 26:40.0 won him a third-place finish. The sophomore brought the race down to the end as he finished only 1.5 seconds after his closest competitor. Ford was named First-Team All-Empire 8 for his impressive result. 
 
Senior Bernard Daoust came in ninth place and garnered First-Team All-Conference recognition for the Cardinals as he crossed the finish line in 27:28.9. He shared a mile pace of 5:30 with two other racers and finished just .8 seconds behind the 8th place finisher.
 
He was followed by freshman Brandon Nicosia who made an 11th place finish for the Cardinals after racing a final time of 27:33.4. His classmate, Bogdon Rozvora, earned 15th place as he finished the 8K in 28:03.3. Both freshmen gained Second-Team All-Conference honors for their finishes.
 
The Cardinals averaged a time of 27:43, which was just 21 seconds shy of first-place finisher, Utica.

Men's Cross Country Lands Four on All-Conference Teams

Following a fourth place showing in the conference championship earlier this month, four members of the St. John Fisher College men's cross country team were named All-Conference by the Empire 8 as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.

Sophomore Andrew Ford was named First-Team All-Conference for the second straight season as the 2018 Rookie of the Year was tabbed the Empire 8 Runner of the Week four times overall this season.  Ford won the Highlander Invite would go on to claim back-to-back third place finishes in the ESF Mighty Oak Invite and the Empire 8 Championship. 

Now a three-time All-Conference honoree over his career, Bernard Daoust was selected to the Empire 8 First-Team as the senior collected three top-10 individual finishes this year including a ninth place mark in the Empire 8 Championship on November 2nd. 

Both Brandon Nicosia and Bogdan Rozvora were selected as Second-Team All-Conference recipients after both turned in breakout seasons as freshmen.  Nicosia finished the Empire 8 Championship in 27:33.4 – good for 11th place overall while Rozvora completed the 8k championship in 15th position with a time of 28:03.3.  

In addition, Adam Yeager was selected as the team's representatives on the conference's 2019 Cross Country Sportsman of the Year Teams.  "The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "competing with honor and integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen. "