GREENWICH, NY – It was a day for the freshmen to shine for the Siena Women's and Men's Cross Country teams on Saturday at the Washington Fairgrounds in the RPI Fairgrounds Showdown. 

The Siena Women finished eight out of a field of 16 teams with 249 points in the 6K while the Men's Cross Country Team had four runners who finished the 8K.

The Saints Women's Team had five runners finish inside the Top-80 with freshman Emma Tjersland leading the way with a 48^th overall finish at 22:53.3 and was closely followed behind by fellow freshman Emma Gold (22:02.6), sophomore Avery Kozerski (23:41.8), and juniors Olivia Armenia (23:47.0), and Katie Hayes (23:49.0). 

Tjersland, the Hauppauge, NY native, lowered her average mile rate to 6:08 after running 6:32 last weekend at the Jasper Invitational.

SUNY Geneseo took the top spot with five runners, who placed inside the Top-10 led by senior Shelby Boise (21:10.5). 

The Saints' top male runner was freshman Cillian Lyster (25:38.2), who placed 59^th overall. It was the Washington, D.C. native debut race for the cross country season. 

SUNY Geneseo also took the men's race, winning with five runners also inside the Top-10 led by senior Collin Brown, who finished in 23:58.0.

Team Scores
Women
SUNY Geneseo 24, Vassar 66, RPI 84, Oswego State 96, St. Lawrence 123, Hamilton 177, Union 181, Siena 106, WPI 270, Utica 282, SUNY-ESF 330, New Paltz St. 385, Bard 385, Castleton 419, SUNY Cobleskill 464, Sage 483

Siena Women Finishers
48. Emma Tjersland – 22:53.3
56. Emma Gold – 23:02.6
74. Avery Kozerski – 23:41.8
78. Olivia Armenia – 23:47.0
79. Katie Hayes – 23:49.0
100. Kathleen Cronin – 24:01.8
102. Shannon Carter – 24:47.5
108. Elizabeth Coyne – 26:13.0
125. Shannon Carter – 26:16.4

Team Scores
Men
SUNY Geneseo 24, RPI 41, WPI 82, Vassar 133, Hamilton 149, St. Lawrence 190, Union 209, Oswego State 232, Utica 265, New Paltz St. 278, SUNY-ESF 341, Bard 286, Castleton 423, Sage 425, SUNY Cobleskill 434, Siena No Team Score (NTS)

Siena Men Finishers
59. Cillian Lyster – 25:38.2
66. Jake Gogarty – 25:53.4
90. Cormac Leahy – 26:26.0
134. Ean Piaschyk – 27:28.7

Next Up
Siena will compete in the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course on Friday, Oct. 2.