The men and women’s cross country teams have shone once again, finishing with the two first place medals at the University of Massachusetts Invitational this weekend. Both the men’s and women’s teams edged out East Stroudsburg University to win their field of 43 and 42 teams respectively. 

Men-1st place (93 points)

The men’s second gold in two weeks bodes well for the team’s future. With the help of Ryan Stender ’18, who took the fourth overall spot, the Judges were able to secure their best place since a second-place finish in 2011. All four of the Judges’ top-30 finishers were sophomores or first-years, with Mitchell Hutton ’18 and Briand Sheppard ’18 finishing 13th and 26th, respectively.  

The same core young players led the squad in the team’s previous meet on Sept. 5 at the Roger Williams Invitational.

At that competition — in which the Judges also secured a first place finish — Stender finished in third place, while Hutton earned an eighth place finish.

Sheppard added a tenth place finish in that race. 

The team’s young talent continued to show their presence with Eli Waxler ’19 making his debut and finishing with a strong 29th-place finish.  

Waxler was a nose faster than East Stroudsburg College senior Jeremy Rapposelli, beating him by a slim margin of .2 seconds.  

Even more impressive, though, is that the Judges are doing all of this without their top three runners. Quinton Hoey ’17, Grady Ward ’16 and Liam Garvey ’18 are all out with injuries. 

 With their return, the team will see a revival of power and a huge boost to their already dominant running level. Regardless of the injuries, the Judges’ emotions are running high, and they hope to continue their streak of dominance in their next meet, running in the Keene State Invitational. Sheppard explained the high emotions, saying, “Winning the first two meets of the season is really exciting for us. We beat a lot of Division I and Division II teams yesterday at UMass-Dartmouth, along with some very good Division III teams as well.”  

Last season, the Judges finished in first place at Keene State out of 34 competitors, and look to win once again.

The squad will attempt to win their third meet in a row to begin the season.

Yet even with their early dominance — last year winning two of their first three meets — the Judges need to keep their composure and defend their first place title at Keene State.

Women-1st Place (49 points)

The women’s team was no less impressive, coming out on top against a tough field. Once again, the Brandeis rookies have shown they are formidable opponents, as Emily Bryson ’19 took fifth overall. Connecticut College senior Ashley Curran, who took third place with an average mile of 5:49.6, narrowly edged out Bryson. 

Yet the upperclassmen could not let the first-years take all the starlight. Of the five top 30 finishers, four were upperclassmen, led by Kelsey Whitaker ’15 and Maddie Dolins ’16. 

Both runners finished within the top ten, giving Brandeis an outstanding three top-ten finishes on the day. 

The other top finishers for the squad were Lydia McCaleb ’17 and Kate Farrel ’17.

McCaleb and Farrel earned 14th and 20th-place finishes, respectively, for the team. 

Also running for the Judges at the meet were Julia Bryson ’19 and Ashley Piccirillo-Horan ’17. 

Bryson finished with a time of 19:28.53 for 34th place, while Piccirillo-Horan earned a 49th place finish with a time of 19:43.69.

With only a 43-second spread from first to fifth, the Judges were able to keep their competitive atmosphere alive. 

This marks the first time the Judges have won at UMass Dartmouth, erasing their history of three runner-up finishes.

Last season the Judges finished in 5th place at the meet, out of 38 different teams from the region.  

With first and second place finishes under their belt, the Judges look to keep up their fast pace at the Keene State Invitational. 

Last year, the squad took the silver medal out of 14 teams, but they are in good position to finally take the coveted gold this time around.

Together, the Brandeis teams look poised for another successful season representing the university.  

As in running, the key to long-term success is pacing. 

The season has only just started, and the teams have an arduous path ahead of them.