After a three-hour drive to Twin Brook, Maine, the men and women emerged victorious, despite freezing temperatures and frigid wind. The enthusiastic cheering of teammates who were not running helped to warm the runners on their path to victory. "For practically every corner we turned and every straightaway we raced, it seemed like there was someone cheering mightily for Amherst," said co-captain Helen Dole '04.
Women's Cross Country
The women hit the trails with an agenda-a bid to nationals. Ranked second in the nation, Coach Erik Nedeau said that the road to "earning the trip to the big dance would be a comfortable one." It certainly was, as the women took fourth place with 114 points, behind Middlebury, Williams and Trinity Colleges.
From the start of the race, three Amherst runners took the lead. Carter Hamill '05, Shauneen Garrahan '07 and Aly Venti '04 emerged as a formidable pack, running comfortably together. In the final 1,000 meters of the 6,000 meter race, Hamill managed to close the gap and finish in second place with a time of 22:07.
Garrahan and Venti came in with sixth and seventh-place finishes, respectively. For their impressive runs, these women all earned double honors-All-Region, for finishing in the top 10, and All-New England, for finishing in the top 35.
Coming in fourth for the team was co-captain Erinn White '04, who took 44th place overall. Sophomore Jenny Horowitz, the team's fifth place runner, "had a huge race" according to Nedeau, finishing 55th out of a pack of 250 runners. "She went out hard and finished great and could be a huge boost for our success at the NCAAs," Nedeau said.
Rounding out the team's magnificent seven and finishing within two seconds of each other in 24:32 and 24:34, respectively, were Dole and Ginger Polich '06.
Coach Nedeau is optimistic for the national meet. "The team will now get into their full taper mode for this weekend's national championship and try to challenge for the title," he said.
The women's team is currently ranked sixth in the country going into nationals.
Men's Cross Country
This marks the first trip to nationals for an Amherst men's cross country team. The men entered the meet knowing they had a hard day ahead of them, prepared to face a deep field of strong runners. Sporting their new black uniforms and freshly shaven heads, the men hit the trails with victory on their minds.
The men finished fourth behind Tufts University, Keene State and Williams College. Their 145 points gave them a mere three-point edge over the fifth-place team, MIT.
Tensions were high throughout the race, as the much sought-after fourth-place finish and the final bid to nationals that goes along with it were up for grabs. Eyeing MIT and Bates as solid competition, the men kept a lookout for harriers from those schools.
Towards the middle of the 8,000 meter race, co-captain Mike Page '05 joined the top 10 runners and stayed with them until the completion of the race, finishing in eighth-place overall with a time of 26:07. Page was awarded both All-Region and All-New England honors.
The next Amherst runner to cross the line was Matt Katz '05, who improved upon his past two years' 36th-place finishes as he moved to 22nd place. Behind him, in third place for the team, was Jack Morgan '05, who finished 34th in the field of 267 runners. For these incredible finishes, the pair earned All-New England honors.
Throughout the last mile of the race, co-captain John Stanton-Geddes '05 and Dave Molina '05 paced one another, finishing fourth and fifth for the team, respectively. Dave Schreiner '06 and Brandt Tullis '07 completed the men's seven.
After the race, the men had to await the results. "The waiting for the results was excruciating, as we knew that it was extremely tight with Halston Taylor's MIT team," said coach Nedeau.
Morgan praised the men for their fourth-place finish. "The men's race this Sunday was the culmination of thousands of miles logged and years of training," said Morgan. "We knew from the start of the season that we would have an exceptional team and an excellent chance to be the first men's squad from Amherst to ever qualify for Nationals and now we have proven it."
"As a senior and captain of the cross-country team, this is a truly magnificent experience," reflected Stanton-Geddes. "One of the challenges of cross-country is unifying the efforts of seven individuals into a team that on the whole races better than any one individual. We fought to the line as individuals but celebrate and will represent at nationals as a team."
Both teams are looking forward to NCAAs on Nov. 22 in Hanover, Indiana. "This past weekend's success was a team win, and we look forward to the opportunity to race at nationals," said Morgan.
"We have a lot of momentum heading into this weekend because we've proved to ourselves each step along the way of this season that we are one of the best in New England, and can compete with the best nationally," agreed Stanton-Geddes.
The strong showing propelled men's cross-country up to 21st nationally in Division III.