David Kucia part of National Champion Snowshoe Team

By Jim Tucker, Athletic Director & XC Coach, Coach, Paul Smith’s College Striders (snowshoe racing)

Nearly a dozen Paul Smith’s College snowshoe runners took part in US Snowshoe Nationals in Bend, OR on March 16 and 17.  Canton resident David Kucia was a member of the national champion 4 X 1.5 Km relay team with his fellow collegiate runners, covering the distance in 14:33.  This was the second consecutive year for the Paul Smith’s College Striders to win the overall relay title.

Dave used his natural speed to overtake two runners soon after being tagged by Jack Mulvihill on the initial hill climb.  Dave then developed a 10 meter lead and retained this margin over the gradual descent and 200 meter loop through the open field before tagging Louis Ferrone III.  Louis retained a slight lead over his 1500 meter leg for the relay, and then tagged anchor ~ Eric Kowalik.  Eric was seeking some redemption from the previous day’s 10K individual race, and really poured it on for the full 1,500 meters.  Eric finished the event with a 50 meter lead to complete the victory for the team from Paul Smith’s College.

Paul Smith’s College Men’s A Team

Jack Mulvihill                        3:42

David Kucia                        3:36

Louis Ferrone III            3:46

Eric Kowalik                        3:29

Total Time:                        14:33

First Place Overall; First Place Men’s Team (second consecutive year)

This was David’s second year competing at the national level in snowshoeing, as he represented Paul Smith’s College last year in Frisco, Colorado in the Junior (age 19 and under) 5K event.  The base elevation at last year’s race was 9,200 feet, so quite a drastic change from the training and racing done in the Adirondacks in Northern New York.  Paul Smith’s College is at 1,680 feet above sea level, so the event in Colorado was quite a challenge for anyone from the east or Upper Midwest.

It the 10K individual event on March 16, Dave finished in 33^rd place with a time of 1:07:02.  There were a total of 66 men in the event.  Team-mate Jack Mulvihill was the top finisher in the men’s 10K from Paul Smith’s College with a time of 59:07 (14^th), followed by Eric Kowalik in 1:01:08 (21^st) and Chris Peterson in 1:03:18 (25th).

Freshman Louis Ferrone earned a spot on the US National Team with a second place finish in the junior (age 19 and under) in 30:28, a mere five seconds from first place finisher Justin Miller from Lake Oswego, Oregon. 

The Paul Smith’s College women’s relay team was not to be outdone by the men, as they also won the national relay title with an overall time of 19:47.  The team of Ashley Evans, Alexa Cosgro, Lea Anthony and Corrie Desilets led the women’s race from start to finish, but throughout most of the race, the lead was tenuous at best.  The talented team from the Michigan and Wisconsin was usually within 5 meters for the first three legs of the relay, so the Paul Smith’s College women knew they were in a real battle from the start.  Somehow, 4’ 11” Corrie poured it on from the handoff and opened up a lead as the anchor, and ran like a scared rabbit for the entire 1,500 meters.  It was an awesome race, and a wonderful team performance all around for the Paul Smith’s College teams.