In their second competition of the year, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams traveled to the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Dartmouth on Saturday Sept. 17. Last year the women’s team finished in second place, while the men’s team finished in 10th. After starting the season with first place finishes at the Wellesley College Invitational, the two teams looked to continue their strong start to the season.
For the varsity women’s 5K, the women’s team was led by senior Bridget Pickard ’23. She finished in 20th place with a time of 18:38.19. It was the first time Pickard had broken the 19-minute mark as she beat her previous best 5K time by 24 seconds. First-year Katriona Briggs ’26 finished right behind her with a time of 18:39. She also broke 19 minutes for the first time and improved on her first run by 34 seconds. Then came junior Juliette Intrieri ’24 who finished just behind Briggs with a time of 18:39.21. It was also the first time Intrieri broke 19 minutes as she improved on her previous best by 28 seconds. Junior Lizzy Reynolds ’24 was the next Judge to finish, as she placed 52nd with a time of 19:13.75. Sophomore Zada Forde ’25 finished in 76th with a time of 19:35.47. Junior Katie Lyon ’24 finished her second race of the season with a time of 20:05.91 and in 111th place. Sophomore Kyra Au ’25 improved her time from her first run this season, as she finished with a time of 20:20.60. Overall, the women’s cross-country team finished in seventh place with 189 points.
In the junior varsity women’s 5K, the Judges were led by freshman Ella Werkentine ’26. She finished in second place with a time of 19:24.54 in her first-ever run of the course. Junior Adah Anderson ’24 was the next runner from Brandeis to finish. She placed 29th, with a time of 20:59.86. Freshman Cali Morvay ’26 finished shortly after in 31st place. Her time was 21:08.73 on her first time running the course.
Senior Matthew Dribben ’23 led the way for the men’s team in the varsity men’s five mile competition, as he finished in 36th place with a time of 25:48.50. Junior Willem Goff ’24 was close to 20 seconds behind him, as he finished with a time of 26:19.27 in 55th place. This was Goff’s first time running at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational. First-year TJ Carleo ’26 was the next Judge to finish as he placed 103rd with a time of 27:02.34. Sophomore Lucas Dia ’25 and Daniel Frost ’25 rounded the top five for Brandeis as they finished in with times 27:12.94 and 27:36.39 respectively. They were followed by junior Samuel Kim ’24 and sophomore Dashiell Janicki ’25. Kim finished in 205th with a time of 29:12.54, while Janicki finished shortly after with a time of 29:39.77 in 214th place. This was both of their first times running at the invitational. Overall, the men’s cross-country team finished in 17th place with 421 points.
In the men’s junior varsity five mile competition, junior Henry Ngyuen ’24 was the first runner from Brandeis to finish. He finished 32nd with a time of 28:03.99. Senior Taylor Diamond ’23 followed in 97th place with a time of 31:02.55.
Both teams will next run at the Keene State Invitational on Oct. 1. Last year the men’s team finished in second place overall with Dribben leading the way. The women’s team finished in first place in the competition. These two teams will then run one more race at the Connecticut College Invitational on Oct. 15 before the University Athletic Association Championships in Atlanta.
Editor’s Note: Editor-in-Chief Victoria Morrongiello ’23 is captain of the women’s cross country team but did not contribute to this article.
