SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Matyas Csiki-Fejer shined and Suffolk men's cross country made itself known in its first every Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship as the Rams' senior won the individual medal and the team placed second Saturday afternoon at Western New England.
Csiki-Fejer dominated the field with a first-place, course record 8k time of 25:00, more than two minutes ahead of his closest competitor. As the top finisher in the event, the Manchester, Missouri product was named the 2021 CCC Runner of the Year. His athletics accomplishments would not be the only thing he took back to Boston from Western Mass as the law and public policy double major student-athlete was voted the CCC Scholar-Athlete honoree.
As a unit, Suffolk was on the heels of Roger Williams, who captured the crown with 35 points after five of its scoring runners finished in the top 15. The Rams were 20 points behind the Hawks to slid into second.
Csiki-Fejer's co-captain Nic Malm placed fourth overall with a time of 27:14, while rookie Thomas Novy came through the finisher's chute in 28:02 to claim 15th. The senior and freshman joined Csiki-Fejer on the all-conference team.
Selvin Backert and Connor Hayward were on the verge of all-league accolades as well with a 17th and 18th place performance, respectively. Backert clocked a 28:08 and Hayward crossed the tape seven seconds later to round out Suffolk's scorers.
Luke Sikora and Tim Barry competed on the Golden Bear's course as well. Sikora place 24th with a time of 28:34 and Barry with two seconds behind Suffolk's sophomore.
With the conference championship in the calendar, Suffolk now turns its sights on the 2021 NCAA Division III East Regionals, which the Rams will host at Franklin Park in two weeks, Saturday, Nov. 13.
2021 CCC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
TEAM SCORES
1. Roger Williams – 35
2. Suffolk – 55
3. Gordon – 93
4. University of New England – 103
5. Endicott – 130
6. Nichols – 145
7. Wentworth – 186
8. Western New England – 204
Salve Regina – DNP
All-CCC
1. Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk – 25:00
2. Tony Chase, University of New England – 27:07
3. Ryan Seha, Roger Williams – 27:12
4. Nic Malm, Suffolk – 27:14
5. Alexander Kalber, Roger Williams – 27:19
6. Caleb Nye, Endicott – 27:24
7. Raffi Manzo, Roger Williams – 27:33
8. Ethan Boivin, Roger Williams – 27:33
9. Shawn Tobin, Nichols – 27:36
10. Diego Fernandez, University of New England – 27:36
11. Alexander Cravens, Gordon – 27:49
12. Luke Gillett, Roger Williams – 27:56
13. Colin McGinn, Gordon – 27:58
14. Luke Strand, Roger Williams – 27:59
15. Thomas Novy, Suffolk – 28:02
Runner of the Year – Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk
Rookie of the Year – Ryan Shea, Roger Williams
Coach of the Year – Sean Livingtson, Roger Williams
CCC Scholar-Athlete – Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk
Team Sportsmanship - Gordon