The men's cross country team isn't nationally ranked, but that wasn't apparent at Saturday's University Athletic Association Championships at Washington University in St. Louis. The Judges tied for second place of eight teams, their best finish since 1998, when they won their second of two back-to-back UAA titles. Tim Condon '08 finished eighth individually to attain all-UAA second-team honors. Meanwhile, the women's team came in fifth place of eight teams, led by captain Camille Stevens-Rumann '07, who finished 12th, also earning second-team all-UAA honors.

"This was the best men's cross country meet Brandeis has had in a long time," Matt Jennings '09 said.

Runners on the men's team, feeling they hadn't gotten the national attention they deserved prior to this event, raced with a chip on their shoulders. They said their exclusion from national rankings only means that their competition underestimates them.

"After all our strong performances this year, we still aren't getting a lot of credit as a team," Condon said. "We're an underdog, and we haven't been on top in a couple of years. I guess no success in the past couple years equals no credit now."

Last year, the Judges came in last place at this very event.

"Our underdog status definitely drives us," Jennings said. "Our rookies don't understand how humiliated we were last year and how little people appreciate us now."

Condon's time of 25 minutes, 48.08 seconds left him just six seconds short of first-team accolades, awarded to the top seven runners.

"I didn't get out with the front pack," Condon said. "If I started faster, I think I could have beaten some of the people that came in before me, but I think I still beat some pretty good runners."

But Condon was quick to point out his teammates' accomplishments.

"All it took was one person placing one spot lower and we would've finished third," Condon said. "Everyone was a part of this win."

Also fueling the second-place finish in the eight-kilometer race was John Guilinger '08, who placed 15th with a time of 26:16.47. Captain Joel Sunshine '07 finished 16th in 26:17.04. Jennings ran a 26:29.99, good for 22nd, and Brian McDonald '10 placed 26th with a time of 26:34.63.

McDonald was 2.47 seconds away from winning the UAA Rookie of the Year award, which is given to the rookie who places the highest at the meet.

The men went toe-to-toe with some of the top teams in the country. New York University, which finished first in the conference, is ranked No. 3 in the nation, Wash. U. is ranked No. 28 and Carnegie Mellon University, which placed fourth at the UAAs, is ranked No. 19.

On the women's side, Stevens-Rumann became the first Brandeis cross country runner to receive all-UAA honors since 2003, with a time of 23:15.77.

"My race was really exciting," Stevens-Rumann said. "I raced exactly how coach Evans told us to. I started strong and moved through the crowd."

In the 6K race, Emily Terrin '08 placed 22nd with a time of 24:01.73. Coming in 3.59 seconds behind her in 23rd was Katy Agule '09 in 24:05.32. Captain Mary Schilinger '07 came in 26th with a time of 24:12.26.

Much like the men's team, the unranked women's team faced premiere competition in St. Louis.

"I think we ran pretty well considering our competition," captain Megan Bisceglia '07 said.

The cross country teams run next at Regionals Nov. 11 in Springfield, Mass. At Regionals, the top two finishers automatically go to Nationals and the third, fourth and fifth-place teams are considered for at-large bids.