Since BU joined Division I competition, the Binghamton men’s and women’s cross country teams combined for two individual titles at the America East (AE) Cross Country Championships. After the events of Friday afternoon, however, the Bearcats were not only able to double their individual championships but became the only school in the last 20 years to produce both AE individual title winners.
“Our conference is the most competitive it has ever been in the 20 years I’ve been in the conference,” said Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff. “We’ve come pretty far in terms of our competitiveness.”
The individual title sweep in New Hampshire began after the conclusion of the women’s 5K race. Redshirt senior Emily Mackay represented the Bearcats at the front of the pack for the entirety of the race. Heading into the final stretch of the course, Mackay rounded the bend of the UNH track and put almost eight seconds between herself and the second-place runner to win her second-consecutive AE title.
“She’s only one of six women who have repeated as [AE] cross country champions,” Acuff said. “That’s pretty significant for sure … We weren’t really thinking about any of these things. We’re just trying to help her run to the best of her ability.”
Not only had Mackay’s time of 16:24.67 beat out the 90 other competing runners at the meet, but it marked the fastest time posted by any women’s runner in AE championship history.
Following in Mackay’s footsteps, redshirt senior Dan Schaffer resiliently ran at the head of the men’s 8K race. The men’s course similarly ended on the UNH track, and Schaffer bolted around the final curve to earn his first AE individual title.
Schaffer ran a time of 23:55.81 and put nearly seven seconds of space between himself and the UMass Lowell silver medalist. In 2018, Schaffer took second at the AE championship and missed out the following year due to injury. Last season, he came in fourth overall and was only bested by three UMass Lowell runners, all of which were among the 92 competing athletes at Friday’s race.
“For [Schaffer] it was a really special day,” Acuff said. “He’s been through everything in his career … If he had been healthy, I think he could’ve won last year.”
Mackay and Schaffer’s individual title sweeps highlighted BU’s performances at the meet, but were also part of each Binghamton teams’ highest overall finishes in years.
The men’s side earned 79 points and finished third overall for its best placement since 2018, where it also took third. Including Schaffer, five of the 10 Bearcats who competed finished in the top 25. Highest among them besides Schaffer was junior Ryan Guerci who took 16th with a time of 24:33.00. Following Guerci in 19th was sophomore Josh Stone who clocked in at 24:47.26.
“[Guerci and Stone] had solid days,” Acuff said. “They would’ve liked to finish closer to that 10 to 15 [spot] … They ran as well as they were going to for that day.”
The women’s team’s fourth-place finish was its highest since 2005. While Mackay helped bring the score down with her first-place finish, senior Aziza Chigatayeva crossed the finish line in fifth to help BU pass Vermont in the standings.
“[Aziza]’s the only male or female athlete that finished in the top five four years in a row,” Acuff said. “That means a lot. That’s outstanding. I’ve never had anyone do that in 20 years.”
Last season, Chigatayeva took fourth at the AE championship. Despite coming in at a place lower than in the previous season, Chigatayeva clocked in at 16:57.84, which was an entire minute under her spring 2021 time.
The women’s team shaved its score down to 98 points. UMass Lowell swept both the men’s and women’s AE titles despite Binghamton topping both individual ones.
With the conference meet concluded, Binghamton is slated to continue its season at the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet on Friday, Nov. 12. The first race is set to kick off in Boston, Massachusetts. Times for the races are yet to be announced.