Lee Berube, a Ticonderoga High School graduate, will run at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships in Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Calif., this weekend. He is a favorite in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter races. Photo by Nancy Frasier.
Ticonderoga — As the semester nears an end so does one of the greatest athletic careers in SUNY-Geneseo history. Senior Lee Berube will run his final race in blue and white this weekend at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships in Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Calif.
Berube is a Ticonderoga High School graduate and Putnam native.
Berube holds Geneseo records in the mile, 3,000-meter, 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs; he is a seven-time All-American and finished second overall at cross-country nationals this fall. For all intents and purposes, he’s the most accomplished Geneseo distance runner ever.
Cross-country head coach Mike Woods knew Berube’s potential while recruiting him out of Ticonderoga High School.
“The first memory I have of recruiting (Berube) was the day he called me in January (2007) and told me he was coming here,” said Woods. “That was a great day. I said, ‘Oh my God, I’m getting a really excellent runner, maybe a guy who could be the best runner ever’ and turns out he has been.”
Berube’s crowning achievement came at cross-country nationals on Nov. 19, when he led the men to a program-best fourth-place finish while coming in second in a time of 23 minutes 29 seconds, just five seconds off of the leader. Berube also has three Geneseo Invitational victories, three State University of New York Athletic Conference individual titles and two NCAA Regional individual titles on his resume along with endless praise from coaches and teammates alike.
“He’s brought so much recognition to the program, and I don’t feel like our program really needed any validation – I think it’s already considered as one of the best programs in the country – but he’s pushed it even further,” said Woods. “He has a way about him that endears people to him. He’s such a great guy and his brother Jesse (Berube) was exactly the same way.”
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