Men's Cross Country | 8/31/2022 12:26:00 PM
TROY, N.Y. - Student-athletes
Jason Gibbons,
Cory Kennedy,
Matt Lecky, and
Brandon Marks will serve as captains of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's cross country team, head coach
John Lynch has announced.
A senior, Gibbons (Northport, NY / Northport) has run in 11 career meets with seven coming a season ago when he helped the squad to the Liberty League Championship title and a 14th place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship. He earned his career-best 8k time of 25:33.1 at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University and he ran in the conference meet (27:06.2), NCAA Mideast Regional (26:05.5) and at nationals (25:36.5). This is the first year of being a captain for Gibbons, an aeronautical and mechanical engineering dual major.
Another first-year captain, Kennedy (Littleton, CO / Heritage) is a junior who ran in seven meets last season (2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). His season-best time of 25:38.8 came at the NCAA Championship, one week after crossing the finish line of the regional event in 25:56.9. Kennedy, a biomedical engineering major, finished seventh in the Liberty League Championship with a time of 26:00.2.
Lecky (Middletown, CT / Middletown) is a senior in his second year as a captain. He had an All-American season in 2021, finishing 38th at the national meet in a career-best time of 24:21.6. He won four meets during the regular season, highlighted by victories at the multi-divisional Paul Short Invitational (24:30.2) and the Liberty League Championship (25:39.5). He was eighth at the NCAA Regional (25:20.3) and went on to be named the Liberty League Runner of the Year. The chemistry major, who was also recognized as a CoSIDA National Academic All-America, has raced 12 times in his career.
Returning for his fifth year as an architecture major and second as a captain, Marks (Marlton, NJ / Cherokee) has also run in 12 events with a personal-best 8k time of 25:48.9. He has competed in two Liberty League Championship meets, including a 27:17.2 in 2021 and a 27:06.4 in 2019.
The Engineers, who are ranked No. 24 in the national preseason poll, begin their 2022 slate on Friday when they host the College of Saint Rose and Russell Sage College in a meet in Troy (5:15pm).
