The Lord Jeffs began their 2002-2003 campaign with strong results, including top three finishes in their first four races of the year. This success, however, has been recently overshadowed by late season injuries that have caused the Jeffs to not reach many of their preseason expectations. Most notably, the men's cross country team concluded their NESCAC regular season with a disappointing eighth place finish at the NESCAC Championships, which were held at Tufts University last weekend.
The highlights of the 2002-2003 season include first place finishes at the Middlebury College Invitational and the Tufts Invitational. During both of these 8-kilometer races, the Lord Jeffs benefited from having their whole lineup available and consequently were able to race to their full potential. At Middlebury, Amherst was able to defeat NESCAC rivals Connecticut College and Middlebury while three Lord Jeffs finished individually in the top 10. John Stanton-Geddes '04 took top honors in the race with a time of 27:39.
The team followed up on these achievements two weeks later when they traveled to Tufts on Sept. 28 to compete in the Tufts Invitational. This win for the Jeffs was arguably the biggest of the season because they were able to defeat Little III rivals Williams College and Wesleyan University en route to the championship.
After celebrating their victory at Tufts, the men returned to action two weeks later when they traveled to Boston to compete in the New England Championships. Amherst placed respectably, finishing 27th in a field consisting of many Division I teams.
The Lord Jeffs continued their season on Oct. 28, traveling to Williams to compete in the Little III Championships. Although Amherst went into the race extremely confident after having already both schools earlier in the season, the men were unable to get out of the gate quickly and consequently finished in third place.
"We just did not get out fast enough," said David Schreiner '06, who finished 21st. "The front pack broke early and could not be caught."
The men travel to Williams this Saturday to race in the ECAC Championships and will race in Regionals on Nov. 16, a meet that will hopefully lead to a trip to nationals.