UPDATED 11/17 at 10:21 p.m.
Over the Sept. 29-30 weekend, Brandeis’ cross country teams travelled up to Brunswick, M.E. to compete in the Bowdoin College Invitational. The running course was the first six kilometer run of the season, and the Judges made a strong showing on the longer course.
The Judges did not disappoint. The No. 22 ranked women’s team continued their undefeated record, defeating 18 other teams in overall points to continue their run. Three runners finished in the top ten spots, giving the Judges a leg up in the Bowdoin Invitational rankings.
Emily Bryson ’19 yet again took home the UAA Athlete of the Week title after winning her third straight long distance run in a row. The NCAA defending national champion finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second place finisher from Colby with a time of 21:37.70.
E. Bryson’s sister Julia Bryson ’19 was not far behind her. J. Bryson crossed the finish line just after the Colby runner to secure third place in the six kilometer, running a time of 22:16.30.
The final runner to finish in the top ten, rookie Jac Guerra ’22, made a strong showing as well, finishing the race in 22:38.50. The time was good enough to win her sixth place overall.
The men’s side didn’t see as strong of a result but still won sixth place among the 19 teams in attendance. The team couldn’t get any runners into the top ten but did get two runners narrowly into top twenty finishes.
The team was led by underclassmen in the Bowdoin race, with Josh Lombardo ’21 and rookie Matthew Driben ’22 crossing the finish line at the 19th and 20th spots, respectively. Lombardo ran the course in 26:37.70, while Driben, just behind Lombardo, ran it in 26:39.40.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will return to the Brunswick course in November to compete in the NCAA Regional Meet. The Bowdoin Invitational gives the runners a feel for the course, and will allow them to prepare for the course’s unique terrain. The NCAA Regional meet will help determine the runners that will continue on to the NCAA National Championships just a week after Regionals.
In the meantime, both cross country teams have two weeks off to train until their next Invitational at Connecticut College in New London, C.T.. The meet starts at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13. Later in the month, the team will fly out to Wisconsin to compete in the UAA championship meet hosted by the University of Chicago.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Jac Guerra ’22 by she/her/hers pronouns. Guerra uses he/him/his pronouns.
