The Brandeis Cross Country teams overcame a muddy course to grab 5th place for the men and 10th for the women in Saturday's Twin Brook Invitational in Cumberland, Maine. Dan Crespin '05 and Matt Griego '05 led the team with impressive performances which won them 3rd and 6th places, respectively. "It showed that Dan and Matt can run with all the top people in the region," coach John Evans said. "A lot of good people were running in the race and they showed that they can compete with anyone." Evans expects Crespin and Griego to place in the top ten at the Regional Championships coming up in four weeks.

Sarah Romain '06 and Talia Langman '08 also brought in good times helping the women's side trounce Babson and Georgia College. Unlike the 5K courses in the past, Cumberland is a 6K run for the women. Romain felt the additional kilometer had little effect

"We were all ready for the extra distance and I think it went pretty well." Romain said.

This meet, which marked the first event in which Brandeis qualified for team scores, provided a very good litmus test for the team to asses its standing. Evans was pleased with the results saying the team is right where he expected them to be.

The good showing is particularly poignant because the Cumberland course is where Regionals, which has been Evans' focus from the start, will be held in four weeks.

"Bringing most of the team together for this meet was important," Romain explained, "because it will give us a little bit more experience with the course and hopefully let us perform very well there, where it counts."

Evans is optimistic about the team's upcoming race at Regionals.

"It's a tough course," Evans said. "But I think it kind of suits what we want, it suits our team. When we put the full team up we'll do very well."

Though four of the team's focal runners, Aaron Skolnik '05, Peter Vigneron '07, Megan Bisceglia '07 and Camille Stevens -Rumann '07, did not compete this weekend, both sides proved they have a strong core and the potential to be a formidable match in the UAAs and the Regionals.

Evans, who has been confident in his team from the start, received an extra boost from Griego's stellar performance. Griego, who won an UAA individual medal at the Cross Country Championships his freshman year, has suffered through the last two years.

"This is the first time since I've been here [that he has been able to get] back to that level," Evans said. "He ran a really good race and hopefully he'll continue that for the rest of the year."

Both the men's and women's sides have been plagued by injury and illness all season. However, the Judges have been fighting through the injuries and are hoping to be in top form for the last two competitions of the year. Having the team together for the first time at a meet was truly helpful to the team's morale.

"Getting back and being with the team and getting to have our pre-race chat is what makes it all worth it to stick through the injuries," Romain said.

Evans is secure in his expectations for UAA Championships, which will be held on Oct. 30 in Rochester, New York.

"If we can get everybody there healthy, I think we will be right up with the front," Evans said.