Marathon Canoe Team Captures Inaugural College Championship

Geneva, NY ~ After a fall season that saw the Paul Smith's College marathon canoe team win event after event, they can add another superlative to an already stellar semester - the first-ever Collegiate Marathon Canoe Championship.

Outpacing a strong field of competitors over the course of three premier races (the Adirondack 90 Miler, the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta, and the Seneca Monster), PSC student athletes took top honors over the weekend and celebrated the inaugural championship.  Across the series, the Bobcats accumulated the most points of any college program, finishing ahead of Cornell University (second place) and Hamilton College (third place), with 11 other colleges also scoring points.

 

Paul Smith's College paddlers led the way all season, taking both first and second place in every race of the series.  More than 15 different student-athletes represented the Bobcats during the campaign, with Olivia Caprio (Perkiomenville, PA), August Pearson (Athens, GA), and Jessie Church (Bethlehem, NH) competing in all three events.

The final leg of the series was this past weekend's Seneca Lake Monster which saw the Bobcat team of Caprio, Pearson, Gabriel Lloyd (Charlestown, NH), and Sisu Lange (Lyndonville, VT) win the C4 event. 

"This is a great achievement and the result of a lot of hard work from our athletes," said head coach Matt Dougherty.  "For a small school in the woods, it shows the great depth of paddling talent we have. While some of the larger programs could line up five boats on race day, our teams consistently led the way in every race."

The championship underscores Paul Smith's tradition of grit, teamwork, and excellence in outdoor endurance sports.

 

You can follow the Paul Smith's College Athletics Instagram account at @smitty_nation for scores, highlights, pictures, and much more!

 

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At Paul Smith's College, it's about the experience. As the only four-year institution of higher education located in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, Paul Smith's provides real-world, hands-on learning in fields such as business and hospitality, culinary management, forestry, environmental sciences, and natural resources. We can draw on industries and resources available in our backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere. Our community of resourceful, enterprising, supportive, and adventurous individuals collectively provides experiential education, student support in the classroom and beyond, and meaningful opportunities for our alumni. We pride ourselves on research and advocacy on issues that improve our planet and the lives of the people who inhabit it. Learn more at www.paulsmiths.edu.