On Saturday, Sep. 30, the Brandeis men’s and women’s cross country teams went to Rochester, New York to compete in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships. This competition was full of top Division III teams within the nation. The women’s team finished in sixth place with 122 points and the men’s team finished in eighth place with 252 points. At the competition, the conditions were tough to run on as the ground was muddy and wet. This led to times overall being slower than previously.
The men’s team fought hard but ultimately finished in last place in the meet. First-year Daniel Frost ’25 was the first player from Brandeis to finish running the 8k. He finished in 52nd with a time of 27:35. Sophomore Willem Goff ’24 was not that far behind him as he finished in 64th. Goff ran his 8k in 28:16.5. Junior Casey Brackett ’23 finished in 67th and was only five seconds behind Goff. In 70th, senior Matthew Dribben ’22 finished with a time of 28:25.5. First-year Lucas Dia ’25 finished shortly after him with a time of 29:00.8 and in position 72nd. Samuel Kim ’24 and senior Jac Guerra ’22 finished in 75th and 77th respectively. First-year Erik Lopez ’25 rounded off the team with a time of 31:21.5, as he finished in 78th.
The women’s team finished sixth place out of seven. They were only one point behind Case Western Reserve University and three points behind Emory University. The team was led by seniors Niamh Kenney ’22 and Erin Magill ’22. Kenney finished the 6k in eighth with a time of 23:11.1 and Magill finished in ninth with a time of 23:16.6. Brandeis was one of only two schools to have multiple runners finish within the top 10. This feat led to both Kenney and Magill winning second team all-UAA honors. Senior Natalie Hattan ’22 finished in 21st with a time of 23:58.1. This gave the Judges three runners within the top 25 at a very tough competition. Sophomore Juliette Intrieri ’24 and first-year Zada Forde ’25 finished in 44th and 49th, respectively. Brandeis therefore had five runners within the top 50. Sophomore Lizzy Reynolds ’24 finished with a time of 25.27.2 and in 58th. Junior Bridget Pickard ’23, freshman Kyra Au ’25 and senior Erika Karlin ’22 all finished in similar positions. Pickard was 67th with a time of 26:09.4 and Au was shortly behind her in 69th with a time of 26:28.7. Karlin was the final runner to finish with a time of 29:55.5.
Even though the conditions were tough, the Judges ran hard and competed against some of the top teams in the nation. Both teams will compete again at the New England Division III Regional Championship at the Franklin Park, Boston on Nov. 13. They will have their final competition on Nov. 20 in Louisville, Kentucky for the NCAA Championships. This will be both teams’ final competition for the year.
