Six years ago, the Amherst women's team could hardly field a varsity track team, but the introduction of Head Coach Erik Nedeau has greatly changed that perception. This year the team is composed of six of the seven runners from last year's team, a team that made nationals and is currently ranked ninth in the nation. The team is held together by an experienced and hardened senior class including Emily Lobsenz '02, Becca Woo '02 and Diana Rancourt '02, but complimented by a talented freshman class, led by Carter Hamill '05, that is prepared to lead Amherst for the next few years. Other notable runners include Alison Dimon '03, Martha Nelson '03, Laurel Kilgour '03, Helen Dole '04 and Alyson Venti '04.
The cross-country season is a long and grueling one. While it is exciting to follow mid-season races and rankings, in the end nothing can truly be said until the New England Championships on Nov. 10, and then presumably the National Championships on Nov. 17. The next month will afford the women time to sharpen their fitness and conditioning and allows runners suffering from injury, such as senior Co-captain Molly Burnett '02 and Hilary Plum '03, the necessary time to recover.
This weekend the women's cross-country team will face Williams College and Wesleyan University at the Little III Championships. The fact that Williams is ranked second in New England and eighth nationally gives this meet added importance. The Jeffs, ranked third in New England and ninth nationally, hope to capture the Little III crown en route to the NESCAC Championships the following weekend.
The men's cross-country team has taken the field by storm this fall, exceeding its own expectations in every race. "This season has been a real surprise," said Co-captain Ben Kozyak '02. "It's been shocking, but in a good way."
The Jeffs have had a number of top finishes this season, placing 2nd at their own invitational, 3rd at Middlebury, 4th at Tufts and 19th in last week's New England Cross-Country Championships. "I was cautious about setting expectations for this season considering the lack of depth in our team," said Nedeau. "However, with the performances of our top five runners so far, I'm growing more and more excited for our performance in the championship meets during the upcoming meets."
Frontrunners Kozyak, John Stanton-Geddes '04 and Mike Page '04 have all had strong seasons. Page has suffered from knee problems, and has been able to run little in the last month. "Losing Page was especially tough because he is a team leader both on and off the race course," said Stanton-Geddes. "His dedication ... was an inspiration to all of the men."
Matt Katz '05 has been the one to save the day nearly every weekend. At the Middlebury Invite in September, Katz passed several runners in the final 400 meters with a tremendous kick. Since then, Katz has been Amherst's top finisher for the past three meets.
With the pending return of Page, and a strong showing from Katz, Stanton-Geddes, Kozyak and first-year standout Zeke Phillips '05, Amherst has a top five that is able to be competitive with the best teams in NESCAC. The men face Williams and Wesleyan tomorrow in the Little III Championships, with the NESCAC Championships next Saturday, and the ECAC's in November. At the championship meets, the men hope to turn this year from a rebuilding season into a winning one.