The men and women’s cross country team turned in strong performances at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III New England Regional Championships on Saturday as University Athletic Association champion Emily Bryson ’19 led the way with a 13th-place finish. The women took home eighth-place overall, scoring 242 points, while the men earned a 14th-place finish with 433 points.

Women’s Squad (8th place- 242 points)

Bryson took 13th out of 390 runners at the event, earning her All-New England honors, which qualified her for a berth to the prestigious NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.

Bryson will make an NCAA Championship appearance in her first season, an impressive feat.

Bryson finished the race in 22 minutes and 3.01 seconds, the same time that won the UAA championship on Oct. 31. Bryson’s 13th-place finish over the six-kilometer race was the best by a first-year Brandeis runner since Heather Davidson ’01 took 12th in 1998.

Maddie Dolins ’17 also earned All-New England Honors for the second time in her collegiate career with a top-30 finish. Her 22:16.1 race was good for 29th overall and second on the Judges.

Brandeis’s next two competitors finished in quick succession, as Julia Bryson ’19 and Ashley Piccirillo-Horan ’17 both crossed the finish line just after the 23-minute mark. Julia Bryson stopped the timer at the 23:02.2 mark while Piccirillo-Horan ended the race at 23:04.

The Judges’ final scorer was Lydia McCaleb ’17, whose 23:13.0 finish was 73rd overall and a four-place improvement on last year’s race.

Kate Farrell ’17 and Kelsey Whitaker ’16 rounded out the Judges at the race, taking home 23:16.3 and 23:07.65 finishes, respectively.

The Judges’ eighth-place finish was 35 behind Amherst College and only 107 out of a top-five finish.

Men’s squad (14th place- 433 points)

The men’s squad took 14th place, just 138 points out of a top-10 finish. Mitchell Hutton ’17 was the Judges’ top runner on the day, taking 41st-overall with a 25:45.2 race over the eight-kilometer course. 

Liam Garvey ’18 took second on the team with a 26:09.4 finish, turning in a 78th-place finish out of 380 competitors. 

Roger LaCroix ’18 turned in a 26:22.8 finish to earn an 89th-place finish while Brian Sheppard ’18 was able to cross the line at the 26:41.1 mark of the race.

 Quinton Hoey ’17 finished the race in an even 27:00.0 time, while Matt Doran ’17 and Eli Waxler ’19 rounded out the Judges’ competition. Doran raced to a 27:13.0 finish while Waxler turned in a time of 27:27.5 timing.  

Waxler cracked the top 150 in his first race at the regional championships, earning 147th place overall.

 Bryson will be sent to the NCAA Championships this weekend in Oshkosh, Wisconsin before the indoor season begins on Dec. 5.

Last season, the squads only sent one competitor to the met, Kelsey Whitaker ’16. 

Whitaker finished in 210th place at the invitational out of 280 total competitors that ran.

The NCAA berth was Whitaker’s third overall, but that run looks to be jeopardy after a weak season from the senior.