The men and women’s cross country teams finished 10th and third respectively at the Connecticut College Invitational last weekend. Each was ranked out of 21 total teams.
The women were led by Amelia Lundkvist ’14, who finished second out of 257 total runners on the six-kilometer course with a time of 21:34. This was her third race in a row this season in which she not only came in second place, but also finished within five seconds of the first place runner.
Quinton Hoey ’17 of the men’s team became the third runner to be Brandeis’ top performer in four meets out of the season. Hoey came in 32nd out of 248 total runners. He finished at a time of 26:27 on the eight-kilometer course.
Other women who finished in the top ten were Maddie Dolins ’17, who came in fifth, Kelsey Whitaker ’16 in sixth and Victoria Sanford ’14, who made it in 10th place. Maggie Hensel ’16 was the final Judge to score points, coming in 96th place overall.
Also scoring on the men’s team were Jarret Harrigan ’15, who came in just behind Hoey in 35th place, Michael Rosenbach ’15 in 42nd, Grady Ward ’16 in 67th and Liban Aden ’16 in 154th.
Lundkvist was proud of her team’s performance in Connecticut. “We all had great races on Saturday … We all got out well and moved up as the race went along, and most of us felt good at the end to finish strong,” she said in an email. “I am so proud of how everyone did last weekend. People really stepped up.”
Many of the cross country runners this fall will also participate in track and field in the winter. However they aren’t thinking of winter just yet, as they approach the big meet for this season. “We’re not thinking too much about indoor [track and field] right now because our two biggest races are coming up in the next few weeks, so we’re focusing on that,” Lundkvist said.
Lundkvist noted that they are almost fully prepared for their last races. “I think we want to improve on our finishes, maybe finishing stronger than we have been,” she said.
While Connecticut College was their fourth race of the semester, the team is looking to the UAA Conference Championships, which will take place Nov. 2 at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
The main goal at UAAs is to come in third, “or to beat as many teams as possible,” Lundkvist explained.
After UAAs, the teams will compete at the New England Division III Regional Championships in Gorham, Maine on Nov. 16.
