Cross country takes first, sixth
Both the men's and women's cross country teams posted strong finishes at the New England Championships on Saturday in Boston. The men's team placed first out of 47 teams with a total of 138 points, while the women took sixth out of 47 teams with 221 points.
This was the first time that the men have ever won the New England Championships. Out of the four races this season in which the team has competed, Saturday's victory marks their third first-place finish of the year.
Boston University finished in second place behind the Big Green with 140 points.
Head coach Barry Harwick said he was pleased with the team's performance as several runners stepped up strongly.
"To beat 46 teams without our top six runners is a phenomenal achievement," he said.
Harwick said he took the top six runners out of this meet to rest them for the NCAA pre-meet on Oct. 16 at Indiana University.
"[Co-captain] Tom Robbins ['11] had the single most notable performance," Harwick said of the runners that competed.
Robbins, who had been out with an injury until this past weekend, placed 5th overall with a time of 24:36 in his first race of the season.
Pete Jankovsky '12 also turned in a good race, finishing 16th overall.
Co-captain Corey DeWitt '11 said that Robbins' performance was encouraging for the team.
"This race helped a lot with our confidence and proved how deep we are," DeWitt said.
The team's success this season has been due in part to how well the men run as a team, DeWitt said, but also to the tight-knit bonds of the group.
The JV men's team also won their race, finishing with 37 points. The stand-out for the Big Green was Steve Mangan '14, who finished with a time of 25:57.
Going into this week, the team will have a relatively easy training schedule so they enter the NCAA pre-meet "relaxed, stress free and energetic," Harwick said.
The women's team has also been off to a strong season with two first-place finishes in previous meets. Co-captain Lizzie Short '12 said that despite injuries, the team did very well.
Runners Katelyn Walker '14, Alexi Pappas '12 and Bridget End '14 led the team with 27th, 34th and 49th-place finishes, respectively.
"It feels good to know that as a freshman I am contributing and that it's important that I take it seriously because the team depends on it," Walker said.
The results from the meet gave the team a confidence boost and proved how well they are capable of performing, Short said. She added that the race was an overall positive experience for the team.
"Everyone is having a good race when it counts," Short said.
Boston College took first on the women's side with 21 points, with four of the top five runners in the race. Connecticut College took second with 116 points and Middlebury College took third with 163 points.
The Big Green women beat the other two Ivy League competitors at the race, Yale University and Brown University, who finished 8th and 21st, respectively. The Big Green women have two weeks to prepare for the Mayor's Cup on Oct. 24 in Boston.
