Brandeis Mens and Womens cross country teams started the season well last Friday, markedly defeating Bentley College by scores of 15 to 50 for the men and 17 to 42 for the women. Both teams were able to hold strong leads from the beginning and retained their positions throughout the race.
The Mens team had a remarkable showing, with Brandeis sweeping the top ten places. Danny Glass 07 was just able to edge ahead of the pack of Brandeis runners to claim first place, with five of his other teammates finishing within seconds. Their time was just over 20 minutes on this 6k course. Rookie runners such as Brian McDonald 10, Will Collins 10, and Roy Bondurant 10 were able to boast top ten standings as well.
The Women had similar success, claiming an early lead and holding their positions all throughout the race. Megan Bisceglia 07 and Camille Stevens Runnan 07 were able to claim a tie for first with teammate Emily Terrin 08 finishing close behind. Mary Schilinger 07, Becky Hughes 08 and Meaghan Casey 09 were all able to place in the 4k race in order to post Brandeis victory over their opponents.
Dan Suher 08 stated that the true purpose of the meet was to provide a preparation for future competitions. When we have our first meet, we will have some fast running under feet. Fellow teammate Tim Condon 08 also explained that the meet was organized in order to get us ready for upcoming meets, and [it] was good for the team.
Besides providing valuable practice to the veterans and up and coming rookies, Suher went on to explain that the meet indicated who were strong runners and the team had set goals that just about everyone met or exceded. He continued that this meet had surely provided a confidence booster but that other, more difficult races would lie in the future.
The womens cross country team had simmilar comments about their competition. Megan Bisceglia saw that this race could be an indicator of future successes later in the season. She went on to explain that the womens team had desired to put in a good, hard, effort, and see what they could do before the upcoming meets. Bisceglia also explained that their perfromances might indicate future success and had high hopes for the Womens cross country team for the rest of the season.
Both the Mens and Womens Cross County teams have a long schedule ahead of them this season. They compete at the UMass Invitational on Sept. 16, the Harrier Classic on the 23rd, and have championship meets all throughout late October, into November. Their smashing performance against Bentley is a great help to team morale and indicates a bright future for these runners.