Despite putting together solid performances all season, the No. 33 women's cross-country team has flown under the radar.

The Judges may finally be getting their due after a third place finish at the University Athletic Association Championships this past Saturday.

Led by a third-place finish from Amelia Lundkvist '14, who earned First Team All-UAA Honors, the team achieved its best finish since 2002. No. 9 University of Chicago won the competition with 54 points, six points better than No. 6 New York University, which finished second with 60.

"I think we all believe in ourselves a little bit more and are even more excited for the next couple weeks," said Lundkvist. "We all ran our hearts out together and that really brought us together even more. Not only was it a big boost for us mentally, but it'll also be a boost for us in the [New England Division III Regional] rankings, and hopefully the [NCAA Division III] Rankings. "

The men, competing without top runner Ed Colvin '14, who has struggled with injury this season, placed eighth with 243 points. Washington University in St. Louis took the men's crown with an impressive total of 26 points.

The women, though, have proved that their success should not have been a surprise. At Connecticut College on Oct. 19, the Judges made a statement to their competitors, finishing just 11 points behind No. 11 Tufts University.

While that performance was impressive, this weekend's result was perhaps even more emphatic. The Judges were defeated by UChicago and NYU; however, they finished ahead of three ranked teams-No. 10 WashU, No. 20 Case Western Reserve University and 34th ranked the University of Rochester, who took home fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively.

Lundkvist was the top finisher for the Judges, running the six-kilometer course in 22 minutes and two seconds for third place. She was not the only runner for the Judges to earn conference honors, however. Maddie Dolins '17 took ninth in 22:35 and Victoria Sanford '14 placed 12th in 22:43 to earn Second Team All-UAA distinction.

At the end of the meet, Dolins was named UAA Rookie of the Year, the first female runner for the Judges to earn the distinction in Brandeis history.

"It was awesome for [Dolins] to be recognized," Lundkvist said. "She has really stepped up big for us. I keep forgetting she's just a freshman; she's jumped right into big training and big mileage and she's doing so well. She absolutely deserves [the honor] because she works so hard and it shows."

The Judges' fourth runner, Kelsey Whitaker '16, placed 29th in 23:18. Ashley Piccirillo '17 rounded out Brandeis' scoring,earning 35th place in 23:33.

Lundkvist said that, while the team started the race a bit slower than they would have liked, the Judges rebounded well and ultimately finished strong.

"We got out a bit slow," she said. "[Head coach John Evans] told us to go out [in the top 20 places], but we were in the 40s at the mile. That was not a good start. We should've been further up, but we passed people well."

On the men's side, the Judges were led by Jarret Harrigan '15, who placed 47th, running the eight-kilometer course in 26:53. He was followed closely after by Quinton Hoey '17, who was 50th with a time of 26:58.

Grady Ward '16, the team's third runner, took 61st in 27:19. Michael Rosenbach '15 and Daniel Leon '17 completed the Judges' team scoring, finishing 67th (27:30) and 74th (29:53) overall.

Brandeis will next compete on Saturday, Nov. 17 at the New England Division III Regional meet, held at the University of Southern Maine. And though both teams are ready to compete, Lundkvist believes that the women in particular are poised to succeed.

"We're definitely getting more and more excited, but still focusing on training well and making sure we make the most of these two weeks," she said. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves or anything but we are very excited for [Regionals]. We have shown how good we are as a team and I think we're ready to show some more people in a couple weeks."
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