The men’s and women’s cross country teams both excelled at individual events last year, even though the small squads were unable to compete overall with larger squads in the region. The women’s team sent at least one runner to the NCAA Championships in each of the three phases of the season—the outdoor fall season, indoor winter season and outdoor spring season—and the men’s team sent an athlete to the NCAA Championships last spring. Under the direction of second-year coach Sinead Evans, who took over following the resignation of the former coach last December, the Judges look once again for strong individual years from their top athletes.

The women’s squad, led by distance runner Kelsey Whitaker ’16, will look to its team depth for a strong year. The Judges return 13 runners from last year, having graduated distance runners Amelia Lundkvist ’14 and Victoria Sanford ’14. The pair of graduates, along with Whitaker, both qualified for the 1500-meter run at the NCAA Tournament following the winter season, and their leadership and expertise will be a challenge to overcome. Whitaker should pace the team and once again will be in contention for a spot at the 1500-meter race in the NCAA Tournament. The squad will also return captain Kristi Pisarik ’15, the lone senior on the team, and her leadership will help mold a team comprised mostly of sophomores. 

“The women went to cross country nationals last year, [and] obviously we lost two strong seniors but we have the [core] of a very strong team,” Evans said. “We’re hoping the women will continue to be competitive, [and] to make nationals again will be our goal. It’s always hard to go to nationals, especially out of the northeast region.”

Other members of the team also turned in impressive stretches last year and their return will help guide the team to a successful season. Maggie Hensel ’16 and Molly Paris ’16 will return alongside Whitaker and Maddie Dolins ’17 and Ashley Piccirillo-Horan ’17 will pace the sophomore class. Dolins outpaced Whitaker at the six kilometer race in the New England Division III Regional Championships last November, finishing in 20th place at 21:53:20, and continued through strong winter and spring seasons. 

“We’re just going to take it one race at a time, and if the team doesn’t make it again we definitely have a couple individuals who can make it, but the goal is to get the team back,” Evans remarked.

The men’s team will be heavily concentrated with first-years, most likely using the fall season to test out new runners. Greg Bray ’15, one of two returning seniors, will serve as captain and help mentor the young squad and is one of just five upperclassmen returning for the fall season. Liban Aden ’16, Matt Becker ’16, Grady Ward ’16 and Jarret Harrigan ’15 round out the upperclassmen on the team. Harrigan looks to once again have a strong year, sneaking in to the top 50 of the eight kilometer race last year at the New England Division III Championships with a time of 25 minutes, 54.55 seconds and paced the squad at the University Athletic Association Championships last November.

Five sophomores will also return for the Judges, and the runners should produce strong outdoor seasons. Quinton Hoey ’17 finished the UAA Championships five seconds behind Harrigan and turned in impressive races during the indoor winter season. Matt Doran ’17 and Omar Scruggs ’17 both improved as the year progressed and look to take the next step forward as sophomores. Both Daniel Leon ’17 and Brad Payne ’17 only saw limited action last fall and look for increased roles this year.

The men’s team will have 11 first-years on the squad, though not all will feature during the fall season. 

The performance of the new runners, coupled with strong seasons from returning runners, will determine the overall outcome of the squad, according to Evans. 

“We have a bunch of talent that has just come in; it’s about how they’ll respond to the 8K [race],” she said. “It’s exciting because it’s an unknown, but no doubt they’ll be competitive in all their races.” 

Though neither team will be able to put up the team stats necessary for team wins, an unfortunate feature of a small team, both squads will look for one or two runners to challenge for a bid to the NCAA Championships. Each squad will face an early-season test during the Dartmouth Invitational in mid-September and both will travel to Washington University in St. Louis for the UAA Championships on November 15. 

The men’s squad will open their season at the Emmanuel Invitational on Saturday, while the women will host the University of Southern Maine in their season-opening meet on Friday.