When Mekonen Gendebo '11 finished his race at the University Athletic Association championships Saturday, he was initially overjoyed because his ninth-place finish out of 78 runners ensured that he would earn the UAA Rookie of the Year award. But once he heard where the team finished, Gendebo's mood changed immediately."I was telling all my teammates [about my finish], and I was really, really, happy, but once I found out where we finished, that was all gone," he said.

Despite Gendebo's heroics, the men's cross country team finished in fifth place out of eight teams in Boston this weekend with 124 points, and the Judges were just three points shy of third-place Case Western Reserve University. It was a significant step down from last year's second-place finish at this event.

The women's team finished in sixth place with 144 points, one spot below last season's fifth-place finish.

Gendebo has emerged as the team's top runner this year, and he put a stamp on his season with his performance Saturday. His time of 25 minutes, 47 seconds was his fastest of the season and marked the third consecutive meet in which his time improved. He said he was thinking about winning the UAA Rookie of the Year while he raced, explaining that it spurred him to run his fastest instead of causing him to tighten up.

"Usually, when I'm running, I'm thinking about how tired I am, but this time, I was thinking, 'I'm doing great, I'm going to be Rookie of the Year,' and that definitely helped me a lot," he said.

Gendebo set a blistering pace early, emerging as the race's leader for the first 800 meters. But he struggled to keep that up and eventually was passed by over 20 runners. With his Rookie of the Year hopes fading fast, Gendebo rebounded, passing several runners late in the race to break back into the top 10.

"[The key] was my mental preparation," Gendebo said. "For the past few weeks, [this meet] was all I was thinking about."

Matt Jennings '09 and Mike Stone '09 were the Judges' next two finishers, placing 21st and 26th, respectively, while rookies Paul Norton '11 and Dan Anastos '11 came in 31st and 38th to round out the Judges' scoring.

The squad didn't get much help from its senior members. John Guilinger '08 attempted to return from a heel injury he suffered Sept. 22, but the pain was too much, and he ended up withdrawing. Tim Condon '08, a second-team all-UAA performer last season, raced but struggled mightily, finishing seventh on the team and 53rd overall with a time of 26:52, 1:04 slower than his time at last year's event.

"I just don't think I'm in as good a shape as I had been in the past few years," Condon said.

The women's team, however, was slightly more upbeat about its sixth-place finish, considering last season's senior-laden squad, led by Megan Bisceglia '07, Sarah Romain '07 and Camille Stevens-Rumann '07, only finished one spot higher.

"For our age, I think we did well," captain Katy Agule '09 said.

For the third consecutive week, Marie Lemay '11 was the team's top finisher, this time placing 24th with a time of 24:14.

"It was kind of hard for me to know how to pace myself, but I felt like I did the best I could and I'm happy in the end," Lemay said.

Agule, who finished in 27th place with a time of 24:19, also paced herself more slowly at the beginning, but used a fast kick in the final 400 meters to pass several runners. Hannah Lindholm '11, Beth Pisarik '11 and Ally Connolly '09 rounded out the Judges scoring with 33rd-, 36th- and 38th-place finishes, respectively.

Both teams now hope to rebound at the New England Division III Championships Nov. 10, and while players were disappointed with Saturday's finish, they're relieved to have another chance to perform strongly.

"UAAs are a big meet, of course, because it's our conference meet, but we never really see [UAA teams] much," Agule said. "If you place well, it helps you, but if you really wanted to continue your season, it's [the next meet] that counts, so I'm just looking forward to [that].