Cross Country Team Takes On NESCACs
By by ROBERT LONG, Staff Writer
Cold temperatures did not prevent fast times at the NESCAC Championships on Saturday On their own course, the women placed fourth, while the men took ninth.

The women finished behind Hamilton College, Williams College and conference champion Middlebury College.

The placings echoed the national rankings, as Middlebury entered the race ranked first in Division III. Williams is currently ranked fifth, while Hamilton and Amherst are ranked 12th and 17th in the country respectively.

Katie Scangos '02 led the women, completing the three-mile course in 19:28 (11th). Molly Burnett '02 made a 40-second improvement to finish in 19:38 (14th). Katie Famous '01 continued her streak of strong races with a 21st-place finish in 19:48. Emily Lobsenz '02 remained in the women's top five, taking 28th place overall (20:00).

Erinn White '04 ran another outstanding race, bettering last week's time by 30 seconds. Her surge over the final 100 meters resulted in a 50th-place finish (20:23), and a four-point margin over fifth-place Connecticut College.

Aparna Nancherla '04 (20:50, 68th) broke the 21-minute barrier for the first time this year, lowering her personal best by 15 seconds on the home course Saturday, and by an unheralded 90 seconds since September. "The home course has become very familiar," said Nancherla. "I also fed off of the cheering and seeing so many teammates close in front of me."

"[The women] keep battling and individuals keep stepping up when teammates suffer injuries or illness," said Coach Erik Nedeau. "[White] has been great, and Laurel Kilgour ['03], who has done limited training due to illness, is right in the mix. They are just two of the many runners who contributed to our strong showing on Saturday."

The men finished ninth, while Williams destroyed the field to take first by over 60 points. Nathaniel Robinson '02 (32nd overall) led the Jeffs for the second week in a row, completing the five-mile course in 27:45. Michael Page '04 also broke the 28-minute barrier on the home course to take 35th place overall. Both Robinson and Page improved on last week's time by over 30 seconds.

Sophomore Alex Lenkoski (42nd, 28:11) shattered last week's time by fifty seconds to finish third on the team. First-year John Stanton Geddes (47th, 28:17) remained a member of the Jeffs' top five, while junior Ben Kozyak (66th, 28:43) bettered last week's time by a minute to round out the scorers.

Carson Taylor '03 and Justin DiVenuta '04 finished to take 67th and 68th respectively. Taylor, like Kozyak, improved by over a minute. Brett Richey '03 (73rd, 28:56) dropped last week's personal best by 80 seconds, while Albert Lee '02 (80th, 29:02) bettered his time by almost two minutes. "The strength of our team lies in our depth," said Lee. "Little time separates each of our runners, so we have to work together to succeed."

"[The men] all ran faster then they had on the course this year, so that is a good measure of where they are at," said Nedeau. "This is a big year for us to gain confidence and experience and I think that what they are gaining now is going to pay off with huge dividends later."

Issue 08, Submitted 2000-11-01 11:02:49