Last semester, while their classmates were getting ready for finals, Brandeis cross country runners Gretchen Chick '04 and Dan Crespin '05 were preparing for a different kind of test. On Saturday, Nov. 22, Chick and Crespin traveled to Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, to compete against other top Division III runners in the NCAA cross country national championships.
On the women's side, the runners who compete in nationals were determined by the regional championships. In New England, the top five women's teams and top nine individuals qualified. Chick finished sixth at regionals, becoming the newest female Brandeis cross country runner to qualify for nationals since last year, when Mariko Tansey Holbrook '03 and Caitlin Malloy '03 both earned All-American honors at nationals, finishing second and 22nd, respectively.
Chick's qualification was the culmination of a successful season that included her first career All-UAA honor. At nationals she finished 86th out of a competitive field of 215 athletes, and was excited with her performance in the race and during the season.
"The competition is very talented, so I was just hoping to go out there and race well. I was happy with the race and the season as a whole. I was strong all the way through and healthy, able to compete at a high level and improve. This cross country season was great," Chick said.
The men's championship race boasted a competitive field of 215 runners, including other New England and UAA runners who Crespin had competed against during the season.
According to the NCAA, in order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions. 24 teams of seven runners each were selected to participate in the championships. The top teams from each of the eight regions automatically qualified. Additional at-large berths were awarded based on the regions with the first 16 finishers in the previous year's championships. They were awarded the additional berths. No region can receive more than five berths.
Additionally, 47 men were selected to participate in the championships. Additional at-large berths were awarded to those regions with the first 16 finishers in the previous year's championships. 47 individuals were selected to participate in the championships.
Crediting his hard work and intense training over the summer, which included racking up weekly a mileage of up to 90 miles, Crespin felt well prepared for the season. After his first two races of the season, in which he ran against some of the best runners in the region, many of which had qualified for nationals in the past, he felt confident in his ability to qualify, which would mean following in the footsteps of Matt Griego '05, who, in 2001, became the last Brandeis men's cross country runner to qualify for nationals.
Crespin, who earned the honors of All-UAA and UAA cross country Athlete of the Week this season, placed 102nd, an impressive finish for his first trip to nationals. He was pleased with his performance. "I would have liked to have placed a little higher, but my goal for the season was to make it to the national championship, so I was very pleased to have done that," he said.