The men's and women's cross-country teams each placed near the top of their respective fields, but neither finished high enough to earn a trip to the National Championship. The women finished eighth out of 38 teams and the men took 13th out of 35.Co-captains Mariko Tansey Holbrook '03 and Caitlin Malloy '03 each qualified for the Div. II Nationals individually. Tansey Holbrook (20:45) finished second out of 273 runners on the 6k course this weekend. Her time was a personal best for the 6k. Malloy (22:05) took 14th.

"Caitlin ran a phenomenal race," Tansey Holbrook said. "She's a tough competitor and the weather didn't phase her a bit. Seeing how Caitlin has honed her racing performances over the season, Nationals should be her best race."

Malloy did not expect to qualify individually, instead expecting to qualify with the team. Reality proved to be just the opposite.

"It still hasn't hit me," she said. "I am excited, but I wish my team could come with me."

Tansey Holbrook agreed. "I'm excited to have qualified," she said. "I'm still adjusting to the idea of going without my team."

On the men's side, Matt Griego '05 finished tops for Brandeis, finishing 23rd with a time of 25:29. He fell just short of qualifying for Nationals individually.

Greg Farrell '03 and Dan Crespin '05 placed 69th and 70th respectively.

"Despite injuries and unpleasant conditions, every single member of the team picked it up and ran as hard as he or she could," Malloy said.

Tansey Holbrook did not breeze over the weather quite as briskly. "It was snowing and windy throughout the race," she said. "But, since we're all tough girls, we chose to race in our normal uniforms."

Williams College won Regionals on the women's side, followed by Middlebury and Bowdoin. Keene State took honors on the men's side, followed by Bowdoin and Williams.

Only teams that place d in the top five qualified for nationals.

"It marked the end of a very memorable season for our team," Malloy said. "It was a sad day, not really because of the disappointment of not making the top-five, but because it was the last race we will ever run together."

Captain Malloy singled out Sarah Beckwith '05 for her incredible effort, calling her "Supergirl." Beckwithbattled with illness over the summer, but still trained hard. This weekend, she cracked the team's top-five runners for the first time this season.

Tansey Holbrook and Malloy will be representing Brandeis at the NCAA Championship on Saturday.