The women's cross country team successfully defended its ECAC crown with 37 points, warding off runner-up Coast Guard Academy (50 points) and third-place Williams (63 points). The men also placed at the top in the Northeast with their third-place finish with 126 points behind defending champion Williams (31 points) and the College of New Jersey (88 points).
Traditionally, several of the squads' top runners take the ECAC Championships off to rest up for next Saturday's Div. III NCAA Regional Championships. Next weekend's performance determines whether or not the teams continue their post-season with a trip to the Div. III NCAA Championships.
Men
Rookie and veteran Jeffs teamed up in the men's 8,000-meter race to bring home third place honors. Staying with the front pack of runnrs for the entire race, first-year Carlyle Eubank finished eighth overall and was joined by senior Robert Boley in 13th place as the pair garnered individual All-ECAC honors.
"Carlyle Eubank had a great race, and established his placing up in the front pack early on and held that throughout, and it was a big confidence booster for him," said Head Coach Erik Nedeau. Eubank will join the rest of the squad at Regionals next weekend and will hopefully carry over with him the power and confidence from this race.
First-year Eric Holaday also had a strong race, and despite a nagging injury the week before, placed 16th, just missing the All-ECAC cut-off. Capping the scoring for the Jeffs were senior John Babbott in 25th and sophomore Peter Foote in 64th. First-years William Bell and Tom Anderson finished their seasons with 71st and 97th place finishes, among 281 runners.
"That [group of] seven [guys] has been very tight in terms of gap times all season, and Saturday that was not the case and it hurt us a bit," commented Nedeau of his runners. "We probably should have been second but third was still very good."
Women
Stepping up for the women was junior Katie Moravec, who stayed near the front throughout the race for an impressive second-place finish in the 6,000-meter race, while the remaining scorers for the Jeffs were not far behind.
"Katie had a great race," commented Nedeau, "not so much because she finished second, but because she looked very confident and relaxed up at the front of the race and that should definitely bode well for us later on."
The rest of the women harriers stepped it up as well. "Rachel Cameron '10 had a breakout day to be the team's second runner, with junior Laura Mortimer right on her heels," said junior co-captain Heather Wilson. In close succession after Cameron and Mortimer's respective fifth- and eighth-place finishes were sophomores Caitlin McDermott-Murphy and Nicole Anderson in 10th and 12th, respectively. By placing within the top twelve, each scoring Jeff earned All-ECAC accolades, a feat which Nedeau called a "great testament to our depth and quality."
Zandra Walton '09 crossed the finish line next for the Jeffs in 33rd place, while junior Nicole Green placed 52nd in a field of close to 250 runners.
"The girls that raced at ECACs this weekend ran great and defended our title from the previous year," said Wilson. "The team beat Coast Guard's 'A' team and showed the great depth that we have this season."
With many outstanding performances, the Jeffs clearly have many reasons to expect continued success at Regionals on Saturday. Wilson noted, "Our win at NESCACs two weekends ago gave us a lot of confidence heading into Regionals."
"We'll also have senior co-captain Shauneen Garrahan back this weekend, so we're definitely aiming to win the meet," added Wilson. The All-American hasn't been racing for the past couple weeks due to an injury. The knowledge that the squad's usual leading runner will be ready for Regionals is reassuring for Jeff harriers and fans alike, though the women were able to claim their first NESCAC title two weeks ago without Garrahan.
Both Jeff squads will aim high once more at the NCAA Div. III Regional Championships hosted by Springfield College at the Veterans Park Golf Course on Sat., Nov. 11.
NESCAC Notes:
Finishing among the top ten teams in the women's race were several NESCAC squads: Williams (3rd), Middlebury (4th), Tufts, Colby, and Connecticut College. The NESCAC was equally dominant in the men's race. In addition to Williams' win and the Jeffs's third place, Wesleyan, Tufts, and Middlebury placed in the top 10.