ROCHESTER, N.Y. – As Owen White passed the 5K mark in the East Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Championships on Saturday he noticed a "mass of blue" cheering for him on the Matt St. James Cross Country Trail.
The Roberts Wesleyan University senior didn't recognize the group at first, but soon realized that members of the Lockport High School cross country team had come out to show support for White and his Redhawk teammates. White, a 2020 Lockport graduate, felt an extra jolt of adrenaline that helped carry him over the last three kilometers to lead Roberts to a 1-2-3 finish and its ninth straight ECC title.
White, who was runner-up in the race to teammate Blake Kasper last year. Teammate Jackson Doran finished second in 24:58.8 and Kasper placed in third in 25:01.0. Roberts won the team competition with 18 points while Daemen finished second with 38.
"I think that it is really nice that tradition is being passed on," said Andrew Dorr, Roberts' Director of Cross Country and Track and Field. "When you pass down tradition there is a culture and they push each other. It's a nice repeat cycle to have."
White, Doran and Kasper all set personal records while taking more than a minute off of their times from 2022.
"They are head and shoulders above where they used to be," Dorr said. "The key for them has been consistent work and consistent improvement week after week."
Junior Zachary Hall placed fifth in 25:44 and senior Theodore Pintabona was seventh in 26:03. 8 to complete the scoring for Roberts. Senior Ryan Karker (10^th in 26:48.1) and junior Jaxon Bunting (14^th in 26:48.1) also placed in the top 15 for Roberts.
"The team effort was great," White said. "I think that almost everybody PR'd and it was a perfect day. The course was nice and fast."
White was awarded ECC Runner of the Year honors while Doran, Kasper, Hall and Pintabona were recognized as first-team All-ECC. Karker and Bunting earned second-team All-ECC. Junior Landon Schreib (17^th in 27:02.2) and freshmen Caleb Belanger (19^th in 27:46.0), Vincent Ciraolo (28^th in 28:42.6) and Micah Barber (29^th in 28:43.8).
While White was pleased with Saturday's results, he and his teammates are not satisfied and have turned their attention to their next race, the 2023 NCAA Division II East Region Championship on Nov. 4 in Hopkinton, N.H,
"It feels good to win it and know that I worked for it," White said. "But the major goal is to win regionals."