The official results confirmed the initial scoring and set off a raucous celebration-the Amherst women's cross-country team is going to travel across the country en route to the NCAA National Championships on the campus of Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash.
The women finished third, behind New England champion Middlebury College and Williams College, with 150 points, while Colby College narrowly claimed the fourth and final NCAA berth with 161 points.
Brandeis University and Connecticut College suffered the heartbreak of missing Nationals by less than 10 points. Brandeis finished with 164 points, while Conn took sixth with 169 points.
Less than 25 seconds separated the total time of Amherst, Colby, Brandeis and Conn., which only adds to the heartbreak that the Judges and Camels suffered.
Tri-captain Katie Famous '01, Emily Lobsenz '02 and Katie Scangos '02 led the women's team. All three earned All-New England honors by finishing in the top 35 out of a field of over 200 runners. Scangos took 16th place with a time of 18:25, an average of 5:55 per mile. Lobsenz crossed the line in 18:36 to earn 22nd place and Famous finished on her teammates' heels to take 23rd in 18:37.
"I dreamed Friday night that Katie [Scangos] would run well and help me run a great race," remarked Lobsenz. "That dream came true, and now the team is going to Nationals."
Molly Burnett '02 (43rd, 18:56) ran her fastest race of the year, and Erinn White '04 (46th, 19:00) completed the Jeffs' top five. Diana Rancourt '02 (62nd, 19:15) paced the women for the first two miles of the race, before succumbing to the pain of a stress fracture in her foot. Rebecca Woo '02 (73rd, 19:23) set a personal best in the most important race of the year.
The men's team also had reason to cheer, although they will not join the women at Nationals. The Jeffs ran well, but just missed a top-ten finish.
The men tied for 11th place with Bates, and Alex Lenkoski '03 was a highlight for the Jeffs. Lenkoski ran his best race of the year, and placed 45th overall in a time of 26:18, an average of 5:45 per mile. "I was focused and comfortable up front for the first three miles," replied Lenkoski. "Unfortunately, the effects of running too fast over the first mile (4:52) caught up with me by the end of the race."
Nathaniel Robinson '02 finished second on the team and 52nd overall in 26:30. Freshmen Michael Page (56th, 26:33) and John Stanton-Geddes (79th, 26:59) wrapped up a tremendous opening season with personal bests, while a much-improved Carson Taylor '03 (87th, 27:05) also capped off the year with a personal best. Brett Richey '03 (132nd, 28:06) and Ben Kozyak '02 (136th, 28:15) rounded out the varsity's top seven runners.
"I am proud of what the men accomplished this year," said Coach Erik Nedeau. "All seven runners had the opportunity to run toward the front of a championship meet last week and compete against the best in New England this week. That experience should help the program take a step forward next year."
The Coast Guard Academy, Trinity College, Tufts University, Williams and meet-winner Keene State College will represent New England at the men's NCAA National Championships. The men's championships will also be held next week, also at Whitworth.