Dartmouth's cross country teams brought their seasons to a respectable close on a crisp Saturday morning in New York City's Van Cortlandt Park. The men of Dartmouth cross country turned in a solid performance, taking sixth place in a field of over 30 teams. The Dartmouth women tied for fifth place with Cornell in a similarly-sized field.
Leading the men's team this weekend was junior Dave Burnham, who ran for 15th place in a field of over 200 runners from around the Northeast. His time of 31:32 was less than a minute behind Cornell's Bruce Hyde, whose time of 30:36 over the 10,000 meter course led the way for Cornell's seventh-place finish.
Following Burnham's effort, senior Quinn Thomas turned in a time of 31:50, which was good for a 25th-place finish. Freshman Ben True followed with an uncharacteristic third place for the squad. His time of 32:07 netted him a 35th-place finish. Also scoring for the men's team were Ian Marcus '07 and Harry Norton '08.
Overall, the Dartmouth men's results were not what the team expected. "We raced tough, but just didn't have it out there," said Quinn Thomas '05 after the race. "But we learned from the experience and are returning five of our top seven, so things are looking good for next year."
The men's team from Providence College took first place at the meet, bringing runners in at fourth, fifth and sixth, and earning a total of only 51 points. Iona's male squad was right on their heels, however, with a second-place score of only 56 points.
Turning in the best performance of the day for the Dartmouth women was Melanie Schorr '06. Her time of 21:21 over the 6,000 meter course was good for a team score of 14 points, as she ran for 15th place overall. Right behind her was Susan Dunklee '08, whose time of 21:24 was good for a team score of 15 points (16th overall).
Providence College's Kim Smith won the varsity race with a time of 20:08, leading her team to victory over a field that included many Ivy League schools, as well as colleges and universities from around the Northeast.
Also scoring for the Dartmouth women were Hilary Dionne '07, who took 34th place with a time of 22:08. Seniors Kristen Ettensohn and Elizabeth Peacock-Villada also scored for the squad, taking 47th and 49th place respectively.
As the cross country season has come to a close with the NCAA Regional meet, the Dartmouth cross country teams will now take a well-deserved rest before many of them begin training for indoor track season.
