The Big Green women claimed the top individual spot behind a dominating performance from Abbey D'Agostino '14, who won by nearly 52 seconds. On the six-kilometer Hanover Country Club Course, D'Agostino showed once again why she will be considered the runner to chase this season.
"Abbey is always dependable, not only as an individual performer but as a captain and a leader," women's co-captain Arianna Vailas '14 said. "It's really good for our confidence as a team."
The women's team also saw Sarah Delozier '15 finish in the top 10, and placed another runner in the top 15 with a strong performance from Dana Giordano '16. The runners finished fifth and 12th, respectively, putting points on the board for the Big Green. They were joined in that effort by Bridget End '14 and Sarah Bennett '16, who finished 23rd and 24th.
These strong performances were not quite enough to help the Big Green claim an outright victory, as 2011 NCAA national champion Georgetown went home with the team victory. The Big Green also finished behind Syracuse, but beat out Northwestern University for third place with 63 points. Brown University, Bentley University and Keene State College rounded out the standings, in order.
On the men's side, the Big Green claimed an individual victory thanks to a fantastic time from co-captain Will Geoghegan '14, who ran 53 seconds faster than his winning time last year on the same eight-kilometer course. Geoghegan and other runners benefited from the presence of former Liberty University standout and NCAA champion Sam Chelanga, who ran unattached and finished first in the field with a 23:54.33, though his time was not official and did not count in final standings.
"[Chelanga]'s a tremendous runner," Geoghegan said. "He took it out hard and got everyone going faster, so getting that early pace helped the overall time."
On the way to a second-place, 34-point finish behind highly-touted Syracuse but ahead of Brown, Keene State, and Bentley, the men's team received strong performances from John Bleday '14 and Dylan O'Sullivan '15, who finished fifth and eighth, respectively. Tim Gorman '16 and Brian Masterson '16 rounded out the top five for the Big Green with 11th and 13th place finishes. The Big Green placed 10 runners in the top 20.
"We're excited because we know we're going to get better," Henry Sterling '14 said. "We want to show people we're for real, we're a good squad, and we always want to bring in good competition. Beating bad teams doesn't do much for showing people you're a powerhouse, so we want to race against the top teams."
While both teams look to build on impressive performances, one spot to improve for the men's team might be the gap between top finishers.
"Next week we're definitely going to try and focus on being closer in terms of pack running," Sterling said. "We want to close that gap and make sure that we're always running with teammates."
On the women's side, a promising start to the season is an exciting preview for the rest of the year and will continue to strengthen already strong team chemistry.
Both teams benefited from running a familiar course at home, where the Big Green has been dominant in the past. Geogehegan picked up his second win on the course, and D'Agostino picked up her third, another impressive accolade to add to her collection.
"It's definitely nice to be able to stay in your own room," Sterling said. "That's definitely a big mental advantage when you think about race tactics and where you want to push in the race."
Geogehegan shared this sentiment, adding that it was good to receive support from friends and classmates.
"It's a race that's different than the rest, and a great start to the year," he said.
