Mark Murdy ’21 and Andrea Bolduc ’21 won their respective races as both cross country teams opened their seasons last Friday in the Wellesley Invitational at the hilly five kilometer course at Nehoiden Golf Club. Murdy, who missed last season due to injury, averaged 5:22.7 per mile to finish with a time of 16:42.6. Murdy’s strong performance led the men to a convincing victory and earned him the title of Brandeis Athlete of the Week. Buldoc averaged 6:06.6 per mile finishing at 18:59.2, as the women narrowly came in second. For Bolduc, the victory was the first in her collegiate career. For Murdy, although he won last Friday, he ran a faster time two years ago at the course, where he finished 16:32.3.
In cross country, teams usually consist of seven runners. The best five finishes are added to create the total team score; first place receives one point, second place receives two points, etc. The lowest cumulative team score wins. On the men’s side, the Judges dominated the competition finishing with 22 points, 23 points ahead of the second place team. The men had the top three finishers and four of the top six. First-year Casey Brackett came in second with a time of 16:56.9, while Alec Rogers ’20 finished third at 17:00.9. Dan Curley ’20, who came less than a second short of fifth place, finished with a time of 17:12.7. Jake Judd ’20 rounded out the top 10, coming in with a time of 18:05.0.
For the women, although the Judges had three of the top five finishers, it wasn’t enough. Wellesley defeated Brandeis 27-31. Erin Magill ’22 finished third with a time of 19:26.2, while Danielle Bertaux ’20 finished fifth with a time of 19:41.4. Rookie Bridgett Pickard ’23 finished 10th, running a 20:07.8, and Natalie Hattan ’22 was the fifth finisher for the Judges, finishing 12th with a time of 20:38.7.
The Judges have three more meets before the UAA Championships Nov. 2, which will be hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. The Judges are next in action Sept. 21 at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.
