Last weekend's Albany Invitational featured the return of 2006 all-University Athletic Association cross country runner Tim Condon '08, but it was the younger performers who stole the show for the Judges.Led by top-50 performances from rookies Mekonen Gendebo '11, Dan Anastos '11, Paul Norton '11 and Kerwin Vega '11, the men's cross country team finished in fifth place out of 26 teams Saturday in the eight-kilometer run.

The women's team, racing only rookies and sophomores, finished 16th place in the five-kilometer run, paced by Marie Lemay '11 and Ally Connolly '10.

The men's team's finish was higher than 11 Division I schools and was second among Division III schools, behind only the Rochester Institute of Technology.

"We're really upbeat about [this race]," Gendebo said. "We've had some bad races in the past weeks, so we proved [this week] that we're better than that."

Gendebo had the Judges' best individual finish for the third consecutive meet, coming in 23rd place with a time of 26 minutes, 1 second.

It was his fastest time in an eight-kilometer race this season and was 45 seconds faster than his team-leading time in last week's Open New England Championships.

"I ran an even pace for the first four miles, but I was much faster in the last mile," Gendebo said.

Matt Jennings '09 was the lone upperclassman among the Judges' top five finishers, coming in second on the team and 31st overall with a time of 26:16 after not racing last weekend.

The times of the Judges' next four finishers-Anastos, Norton, Vega and Condon-were all within 10 seconds of each other, a balance that propelled the Judges to fifth place.

Anastos, Norton and Vega all contributed to Brandeis' point total, finishing right next to each other in 41st, 42nd and 43rd place, respectively.

Condon was just behind them in 48th place with a time of 26:32, but because only the top five runners count toward the team's point

total, his finish didn't play into the Judges' final score.

Condon attributed the team's high finish to its emphasis on running in a pack together as opposed to running at separate paces.

"It helps to run together, because you don't get discouraged," Condon said.

"If you run with your teammates for a while, you know you can stay with them, and if they move up and pass someone, then you can do it too."

Though he didn't place in the top five for the Judges, Condon said he was encouraged by his performance Saturday after a knee injury kept him out of the first four meets this season.

"I'm feeling pretty good now," Condon said. "[The injury] wasn't really on my mind while I was running."

On the women's side, the Judges finished third among Division III schools despite racing only rookies and sophomores.

Only Middlebury College, which finished in fifth place, and Springfield College, which finished 13th, finished higher than Brandeis among Division III schools.

Lemay was the top finisher for the Judges, coming in 69th place with a time of 19:23.

Like Gendebo, Lemay improved her time significantly from her previous race, finishing 48 seconds faster than she did in last week's Open New England Championships. She said she was very happy with her performance.

"I felt like I was in control of myself," Lemay said. "I felt pretty strong, and I think I ran a really smart race."

Connolly was the team's second-place finisher, ending in 78th place overall with a time of 19:30. Hannah Lindholm '11 followed in 87th place with a time of 19:37, while Beth Pisarik '10 and Julia Alpaio '10 rounded out the Judges' lineup with 99th and 103rd place finishes, respectively.

Lemay said the Judges' mindset was the key to their overall improvement.

With the exception of Lemay, each player on the team ran at least one minute faster than they did in last week's Open New England Championships.

"We went into the race with a really good attitude," she said. "It was a beautiful day outside, and we were really looking forward to racing."

Both teams next race at the UAA championships Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. That meet is one of two events coach John Evans marked as important meets last week, in addition to next month's New England Division III Championships.