With the championship portion of their season beginning in a couple of weeks, the men's and women's cross country teams measured well against their regional opponents at the New England Championships on Sunday held at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass.

Competing against programs from Division I and II as well as Division III, the men's and women's squads placed 29th and 27th, respectively, out of 37 teams. Both teams defeated multiple Division I and II squads, cementing their reputations as New England Division III powers.

"In cross country, you don't always get to see the course beforehand," said Jarret Harrigan '15, noting that understanding the particulars of a cross country course is much like having home-field advantage.
"But this weekend served as a preview of how the course will run at the biggest meet of the year, the Division III New England Regional Championship [also at Stanley Park on Nov. 10]. Even though the meet didn't go quite as planned, we know what we have to prepare for."

Alex Kramer '13 completed the undulating eight kilometer course in 25 minutes, 23.66 seconds, good for 51st place out of the 261 runner field. Mik Kern '13 was the next runner across the line for the Judges, who finished in 26:18.04 minutes. Taylor Dundas '14 outkicked Greg Bray '15 for 186th place, timing in at 26:54.89, while Bray took 187th in 26:55.22. Michael Rosenbach '15 was the final scorer for the Judges, finishing in 195th place with a time of 27:03.29. Jarret Harrigan '15 and Ed Colvin '14 also competed, taking 214th and 245th places, respectively, with times of 27:35.46 and 29:36.44. Colvin struggled with a knee injury early in the race and faces a day-to-day recovery.

The women saw similar success as well. Victoria Sanford '14 was first across the line, finishing the five-kilometer race in 18:50.04, which was good for 89th place. Classmate Ali Kirsch '14 was the next finisher for the Judges, taking 107th place with a time of 19:03.06 . Amelia Lundkvist '14 took 146th, stopping the clock at 19:07.46. Kelsey Whitaker '16 was fourth for the Judges, placing 160th and timing in at 19:39.10 seconds. Maggie Hensel '16 was the squad's final scorer, taking 176th with a time of 19:51.01. Erin Bisceglia '12, MA '13 and Kristi Pisarik '15 also competed, taking 196th in 20:13.53 and 204th with a time of 20:21.84, respectively.

On Saturday, the squads will make the trek to Albany, N.Y. to compete in the University of Albany Invitational, which will provide some more opportunity for competition against Division I and II competition. While the New England Division III Regional Meet is still over a month away, the squads are starting to show signs of budding success.

Despite the fact that the men's squad hasn't been ranked as highly as they would have liked to have been this year, Harrigan cautioned anyone who might doubt the Judges' abilities.

"We all still genuinely believe that we can run with anyone in the region," he said. "We have been working towards the [University Athletic Association] Championships and Regionals throughout the entire season because those are the only two meets that really matter. It will be fun surprising a few people at UAAs in three weeks and then surprising everyone at Regionals in five weeks."
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