Contact: David O Brian ([email protected])

VESTAL, N.Y. Fresh off of winning the America East championship this past weekend, the Binghamton men s cross country team has cracked the United States Track and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Northeast Region Poll. The Bearcats check in at No. 12 after being unranked since the start of the season.

This marks the fifth time in seven years that Binghamton s men s cross country squad has been ranked in the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Poll. The Bearcats finished the 2009 season ranked eighth and were No. 10 in the final poll of both 2010 and 2013. In 2008, they were ranked as high as No. 13 during the season.

Binghamton won its second America East title this past weekend and it first since 2009. With runner-up finishes at the conference meet in 2010 and 2013, the Bearcats are the only men s squad in the America East to have won two titles and posted four two-two finishes in the past six seasons.

Senior Matt Johnson, who was a team-best eighth overall at the America East meet, earned all-conference honors in cross country for the first time in his career. So too did senior Jesse Garn, who was ninth, and junior Ethan Hausamann, who placed 10th. Since 2008, 10 different Binghamton runners have accounted for a total of 14 all-conference honors.

The accolades also continue to pile up for head coach Annette Acuff, who has been at the helm of the program since 2000. She was named the conference s Men s Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. Acuff, who is also an assistant coach with the track & field program, has been named the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Men s Assistant Coach of the Year twice (2011 indoor season and 2012 outdoor season).

Up next for the Bearcats is the Northeast Regional Meet, which will be held Nov. 14 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The final USTFCCCA Northeast Region Poll of the season will be released after that race.