This past weekend the men’s and women’s cross country teams won both team and individual titles at the Keene State Cross Country Invitational in New Hampshire.
The men’s team excelled, placing first as a team among nine schools. Ryan Stender ’18 placed first overall in the race with a time of 25:46. The win was Stender’s first career win with four second place and two third place finishes. Brandeis’ Mitchell Hutton ’18 came in behind Stender, securing the second place spot for himself with a time of 26:03.
While the seniors carried the Judges, the next two Brandeis runners to place were first-years, proving the Judges to be strong all around this year. Luke Ostrander ’21 placed fifth with a time of 26:31, while Mark Murdy ’21 placed seventh with a time of 26:40. Three other Judges placed in the top 20 of the race. Liam Garvey ’18 placed tenth with a time of 26:45, in his first race this season over 8k. Max Whitmore ’18 placed 12th with a time of 26:58 and Brian Gao ’20 placed 18th with time of 27:23.
The women’s cross country team placed first overall among nine teams. The women were led by twin sisters Emily and Julia Bryson ’19. Emily Bryson finished first with a time of 17:38, while Julia Bryson finished with a time of 18:51 to put her in fourth place. Emily has finished either first on second in every meet this season so far. Five other Judges placed in the top 20 for Brandeis.
Niahm Kenney ’21 placed sixth with a time of 19:16, while teammate Danielle Bertaux ’20 placed right behind in seventh place with time of 19:19. Kyra Shreeve ’18 closed out the scoring for the Judges, securing them the team win overall. Shreeve finished with a time of 19:48, placing 10th. Doyin Ogundiran ’19 placed closely behind in 11th place with a time of 19:55, while Christine Minor ’19 finished 18th with a time of 20:15.
The women have now placed in the top three in each of their last three meets, while the men’s team has matched the women in overall team wins in the past three meets of the season. The men’s and women’s cross country teams are back in action Saturday, Oct. 14 for the Conn College Invitational at Harkness Park in Waterford, Connecticut.
