Last weekend, the men’s and women’s cross country team travelled to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, for the NCAA New England Division III championships. The men’s team placed 14th out of 54 teams, while the women placed 15th.
The men’s side showed great improvement from last year, moving up nine spots. The Judges’ top performer was co-captain Josh Lombardo ’21, who finished the 8k course at the time of 25:57.26. He improved by 59 places from last year’s race, finishing 41st out of 384 competitors this year. This is Lombardo’s first time breaking 26 minutes; he also shaved his new personal record by nine seconds.
Judges’ second finisher was Mark Murdy ’21, finishing 10 seconds after Lombardo with a time of 26:07.31, good for a 49th place finish. Murdy was the Judge’s seventh finisher his rookie season, after missing his sophomore season due to injury. Matthew Driben ’22 was the third finisher for the Judges, placing 69th. He improved from his rookie season by 64 spots and running this year strong in the time of 26:19.99. Also, he was just two-tenths of a second off his lifetime best. Casey Brackett ’23 was the fourth finisher, running his best performance as a Judge. He broke 27 minutes for the first time, finishing at 26:59.13, good for 117th place. Co-captain Dan Curley ’20 rounded up Brandeis’ score, coming in 141st place. His finishing time was 27:20.94.
On the women’s side, the Judges finished in 15th place with a total of 430 points. Niamh Kenney ’21 lead the team, finishing in 31st, with the time of 22:26.17. She finished three seconds faster than last year at the New England Championships, and a second off her best performance. Co-captain Danielle Bertaux ’20 was the team’s second finisher, coming in two seconds after Kenney. Bertaux improved 45 places from last year, good for 33rd place overall. Her finishing time was 22:28.48, which is the second-fastest time of her running career. Kenney and Bertaux both earned All-New England honors for women’s cross country.
Erin Magill ’22 came in third among the Judges, and this was her first time competing at the regional championships. Her finishing time was 23:09.50, good for 81st place. Additionally, this is her second-straight time as a team third runner. Co-captain Andrea Bolduc ’21 came in fourth for the second-straight time, completing the race in 23:45.61, good for 118th place. Bridget Pickard ’23 rounded up the women’s team with the time of 24:34.06. Pickard ran four seconds faster than her previous best collegiate time.
Brandeis’ cross country season comes to a close with the New England championships. They will return to action next fall. The men’s team will be returning four out of their top five runners next season. On the women’s side, the Judges will be returning all but one of their top runners next year. Jac Guerra ’22 will also return, having missed the race due to injury.
