ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Cross country season at Nazareth has taken on a different look this fall as the Golden Flyers continue to practice without an Empire 8 Conference to look forward to.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced cancellation of all sports competition at Nazareth, including cross country meets, which had become a regular Saturday staple. The Golden Flyers were hoping to compete for conference titles after placing second and third respectively during the men's and women's seasons in 2019.

The Golden Flyers' men's team has eight runners returning from last season, including first-team all-conference performers Christopher Celecki and Nathan McNally, who also was named E8 Rookie of the Year. Second-team all-conference performers Nathan Bowers, Michael Brown, Jake Suddaby and Joshua Tomaka also were expected to add to a strong nucleus.

For the women's team, there are seven returning runners, including second-team all-stars Claire Bargabos and Erin Reyner. In addition, junior Hayley Cronin was expected to compete after winning the E8 title as a freshman in 2018, then missing the 2019 campaign due to injury.

"Sometimes you can lose purpose for what you're training for," said Associate Head Coach Mike Heymann. "Being back on campus and practicing six days a week is giving us something to train for. We still have our eyes set on the indoor (track season). But our goal more than anything is to replicate a normal fall season as close as we can."