This meet matched the Jeffs against many of the top programs in Division I, including meet-champion Providence College, Yale University, and Dartmouth College.
The women's team placed 11th out of the 36 teams in competition, and fourth among Division III schools. The Jeff women were led by four juniors: Diana Rancourt, Molly Burnett, Katie Scangos and Emily Lobsenz, all of whom placed in the top one hundred runners overall.
Rancourt's time led the women for the fifth consecutive meet (19:03, 54th), while just behind her, Burnett ran an outstanding race. Her time of 19:15 was an impressive 20-second improvement from her race at Franklin Park two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Scangos was competing in her first cross-country race of the season, after devoting the first half of the semester to her training for triathlons. The two-time All-American finished in 92nd place overall, posting a time of 19:32.
"I'm looking forward to getting back into racing shape," said Scangos. "It was fun to race with the team again."
Lobsenz completed the course in 19:35, running through the pain of a back injury. First-year Aly Venti rounded out the top five Amherst finishers and finished in a blistering 19:36.
The women also received outstanding performances from Erinn White '04 and Katie Famous '01. White finished seventh in the junior varsity race and ran 19:37, a 24-second improvement over her race two weeks ago at Franklin Park. Meanwhile, Famous returned from a two-week break from her racing stint to finish in a swift 19:41.
The men continued to run with their proven consistency as the top five Jeff runners finished within 30 seconds of each other. Freshmen John Stanton-Geddes and standout Michael Page led the Jeffs as both completed the five-mile course in 26:56.
Both Stanton-Geddes and Page improved their times from the Codfish Bowl. Nathaniel Robinson '02 finished third on the team, while Alex Lenkoski '03 and Justin DiVenuta '04 ended the scoring for the Jeffs, who finished twenty-ninth overall.
The men also saw strong races from young runners Carson Taylor '03 and Andrew Schneider '04. Taylor finished the course in 27:50, good for his sixth place finish on the team. Schneider continued his streak of strong races after bettering his previous time (28:07) by ten seconds.
The Open New England Championships was the first in a series of championship meets for the cross-country team. Amherst hosts the next two meets: the Little III Championships on October 21 and the NESCAC Championships on the 28th.
At the Little III Championships, the Jeffs will host traditional rivals Wesleyan University and Williams College as they strive to grab the much coveted Little III title. The meet will start at noon at the bottom of Memorial Hill on Hitchcock Field.