The Judges cross country team went to Pittsburgh, PA last weekend for one of the biggest races of the season, the University Athletic Association (UAA) championships. In a quick snapshot, the Judges men’s team placed eighth with 232 points, and the women’s team finished in 161 points placing them in seventh place.
On the men’s side, they headed out on an 8K course. Brandeis’ top runner was Josh Lombardo ’21, who led the team for two years in a row. He finished in 26:06.7, placing 39th in the pool of 76 runners. Lombardo placed five positions better than last year’s UAA meet, where he placed 44th. Lombardo shaved 55 seconds off his time from last year and ran a collegiate personal record by 18 seconds.
The Judges’ second runner was Matthew Dribben ’22, who finished the 8K course in 26:19.81, winning 50th place. There has been a huge improvement on Dribben, shaving off a minute and 45 seconds and placing 15 places ahead from last year’s UAA meet.
Mark Murdy ’21 crossed the finish line 0.65 seconds after his teammates with the time 26:20.46. He dropped seven places from his rookie season but improved one minute and 27 seconds from his inaugural run, after recovering from an injury sustained last year.
Co-captain Dan Curley ’20 came fourth among the Judges. His time was 27:22.25, finishing in 60th place. This is his first time breaking 28 minutes on an 8K course, cutting three spots from last year. Casey Brackett ‘23 was our last finisher in the top five, finishing with a time of 27:40.28.
Overall, the men’s team finished in eighth place with 232 points. Host Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) won the championship with 39 points, with all top-five finishers placing in top 15 overall. Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) finished in second place with 43 points, while the University of Chicago (UChicago) followed in third place with 71 points.
On the women’s side, the Judges won seventh overall, just one point behind Case Western Reserve University. Niamh Kenney ‘21 led the team with her strongest UAA performance, placing 17th with a time of 22:40.39. She cut her personal record by 17 seconds and moved up two places from last year. Kenney was just four seconds away from receiving a first career All-Association honor and being a top 14th finisher.
The Judges’ second runner was Danielle Bertaux ‘20, coming in 22nd with the time 22:50.49. She improved three seconds and five places from her career-best at the 2018 UAA Championships. Erin Magill ‘22 finished in third among the Judges, coming in a time of 23:09.17. Magil improved 30 places and shaved a minute and 19 seconds from her rookie season.
Andrea Bolduc ’21 had her career best at UAA as well. Her finishing time was 23:33.80, good for 47th place. She also cut her time by a little under a minute and moved up 17 places in the standings. Hannah Walsh ’22 rounded up Brandeis’ top-five finishes, with a time of 24:35.67 and an overall ranking of 64th. Additionally, Magill, Bolduc and Walsh all ran their collegiate-best performances in the 6K event.
WashU won the championships with 24 points. UChicago came in second place with 53 points and five top-20 finishers overall. The University of Rochester came in third place, with a total of 100 points.
Both Brandeis cross country teams will return to action in two weeks with the NCAA Division III New England Regionals at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME.
