BRONX, N.Y. - On Saturday, Saturday, November 16, Lehman College men's cross country runner John Pollina will participate in the 2013 NCAA Atlantic Region Cross Country Championships, hosted by SUNY Geneseo. The men's race 8K race kicks off at 12:30 p.m., at the Highbanks Recreational Area of Letchworth State Park, in Mount Morris, N.Y.

A freshman, Pollina (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) is looking forward to a strong showing. The 2013 CUNY Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, he set a new Lehman College record of 25.59 at the Bard College Raptors Invitational, back in September.

He will be competing for an individual spot in the upcoming NCAA Division III National Championships, held next week in Hanover, Ind. The top-seven individual finishers from each region that are not on one of the team qualifiers will qualify for the national championship. The top two team finishers in the Regional will automatically move on to next week championship, while 16 other at-large bids will be awarded from across the nation's eight total regions.

During the season, Pollina was the CUNYAC's Rookie of the Week four times, and the Runner of the Week once. In early September, he also garnered ECAC Division III Metro Runner of the Week laurels.

The NCAA Atlantic Regional program can be found here.