After running to individual titles two weekends ago at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, Ethan Shaw '12 and Abbey D'Agostino '14 maintained pace at the NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country Championships in Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday. With their outstanding performances, both Shaw and D'Agostino qualified to represent the Big Green at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 21.
Shaw finished sixth overall in a field of 240 in the men's 10-kilometer race, while D'Agostino obliterated the women's field of 243 runners, winning the six-kilometer race by a 14-second margin. Both races were held at the Audubon Golf Course in suburban Buffalo.
Despite Shaw's blistering time of 31:31, the Big Green's overall performance was "pretty disappointing," Shaw said.
"Half of us ran well and half of us had tough days," he said. "When you run against the top guys in the region like we did, running the way we did doesn't cut it."
The Big Green expected to finish among the top two teams in the race, which would have given it an automatic bid to Nationals next weekend. It instead finished in a disappointing sixth place overall with 182 points.
Columbia University and Brown University edged ahead of Dartmouth, finishing third and fifth with 96 and 178 points, respectively. Syracuse University and Iona College finished first and second, respectively, with each team placing four runners in the race's top 15.
While Shaw's qualification for Nationals and All-Northeast Region honors was a bright spot on Saturday, he said many of Dartmouth's runners "fell apart in the last mile."
John Bleday '14 finished second for the Big Green and 22nd overall in a time of 32:03. Not far behind was Brad Kenimer '12, who finished 27th overall in 32:16. Steve Mangan '14 and Jonathan Gault '13 finished 60th and 67th in times of 32:50 and 32:57, respectively. The last two Dartmouth runners to cross the line were Henry Sterling '14 and Adam Doherty '13, finishing in 97th and 125th places, respectively.
D'Agostino, who earned All-Northeast Region honors with Shaw, said she was "definitely happy" with the women's result.
"Even though we didn't finish as high overall as we did last year and didn't beat out Columbia or Cornell, we ran as competitively as possible and we're proud of our team's individual results," D'Agostino said.
The women's team finished eighth overall in last year's Regionals, two places higher than this year's 10th-place finish. D'Agostino said the team's drop in position was due to "a bit more competitive field" in this year's race.
D'Agostino completed the course in a time of 20:25, easily beating a host of talented runners, including Syracuse senior Lauren Penney and Columbia freshman Waverly Neel.
Both Syracuse and Boston College qualified for Nationals, finishing with 116 and 127 points, respectively. The Big Green recorded 238 points in its 10th-place showing.
After D'Agostino, the next Dartmouth finisher was Alexi Pappas '12, who crossed the line in 30th place with a time of 21:34. Hannah Rowe '14, Caitie Meyer '14 and Bridget End '14 all finished well under 23 minutes in 56th, 61st and 90th places, respectively. Kate Sullivan '13 and Kaitlyn D'Orazio '13 finished in times of 23:18 and 23:49 for 122nd and 152nd places, respectively.
The cross country season is now over for most of the team, but for Shaw and D'Agostino, the biggest race of their lives to date still awaits.
"I've gotten used to the pressure," Shaw said. "I'm just trying to treat it like a normal race. I figure I should expect to perform well and not worry about anything on race day if I've been focused on recovering and tapering in my workouts."
D'Agostino said she has a similar mindset when it comes to dealing with pressure.
"I've taken my mileage down, gotten my rest and should be ready to go," D'Agostino said. "I'll just downplay the pressure and try to remain calm and not get too intimidated by the experienced and talented athletes."
Both D'Agostino and Shaw have experience running at Terre Haute, which helps ease their anxiety before their races.
"It's a gradual uphill the whole way," D'Agostino said. "I'm hoping I'll be able to push through the rough patches, stick with the leaders and ultimately end up in a spot where I feel comfortable enough for a strong kick at the finish."
Shaw said he hopes to cap his collegiate running career as an All-American.
"To be named All-American, you have to finish in the top 40 runners," Shaw said. "It'll be tough, but if I can stick with the top group and really push it in the last two miles, I'll have a chance."
Gault is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
