Unfortunately, the men were unable to use their recent success and momentum for a top finish the NCAA Div. III Regional Championships held at Springfield College on Saturday.
However, the women did what it took to advance. In an excruciatingly close race, Middlebury College edged out Amherst's women by five points 73-78, but the Jeffs left third place Williams College in the dust by 23 points. The Jeffs, along with the Panthers, earned an automatic bid to represent the New England region on Saturday, at the NCAA Div. III National Cross Country Championships hosted by Wilmington College in West Chester, Ohio.
Women
Although the loss to Middlebury was heart-breaking, the second-place finish at Regionals was the best in Amherst's history. The first six Jeffs to cross the line earned All-Regional accolades, with the seventh runner just barely missing out.
Co-captain Heather Wilson '08 had her best race of the season with a strong fifth-place finish, and fellow co-captain Shauneen Garrahan '07 returned to racing triumphantly with her eight-place finish.
Kim Partee '08 placed at 14th, while rookie Sophie Galleher had another impressive race to finish as the top first-year harrier at 21st.
Coming up big in the second half of the race, Katie Moravec '08 was the Jeffs' final scorer at 30th, with Meg Ray '08 right on her heels in 31st. Also making it into the top 40, illustrating the depth of the Jeffs this season, was Laura Mortimer '08 in 39th place.
Elise Tropiano '09, a usual scoring runner for the Jeffs, did not race due to a nagging injury, and instead rested in order to be ready to race again at Nationals this weekend.
"The big thing was making NCAAs, so we accomplished that objective, and despite it being a little bit of an off day for some, I think that it will make them even hungrier for next week," commented Head Coach Eric Nedeau. "Our strategy is simply to go out there and try to run the best that we can, and if we can do that we should be a very tough team to beat."
Men
Rookie sensation Daniel Murner '10 passed several runners in the last two miles of the 8,000-meter race to place first for the Jeffs, finishing 19th in a sensational race. Missing an individual qualification for nationals by a few places, Murner did earn All-Regional honors by placing in the Top 35 and was also the top first-year finisher overall.
Sophomore harrier Harrison Lakehomer produced a 36th-place finish, missing All-Regional honors by just one spot. Junior Tomas Morrissey, who earned All-American honors last year, placed 44th. Nate Freese '07 finished in 59th place as the fourth Jeff scorer, and Carlyle Eubank '10 finished the scoring at 78th, which understates the incredible race he had for most of way. Mike Harbus '08 crossed the finish line not far behind in 89th, while co-captain Cooper Knowlton '07 came in at 102nd.
"As a team, we raced worse than we have at any point this season," said Nedeau, "and while we have been finding ways to get it done the past couple of weeks, we seemed to be unable or unwilling to find a way on Saturday."
Saturday's race was certainly not representative of what this talented squad of men was capable of, as earlier in the season the Jeffs had beaten several of the teams that placed ahead of them on Saturday. "It was frustrating to watch as other teams that we have beaten this season really stepped up," added Nedeau. Had the men come up with a finish among the top five teams, they would have likely received an at-large bid to Nationals. The team's truly outstanding performances that they registered earlier in the season would have helped them make a strong case..
Although disappointed that no men will be competing for the Jeffs at Nationals, Nedeau notes the incredible strength and determination of the rookies, Murner and Eubank, at Regionals. "Carlyle Eubank gave a tremendous effort and showed huge heart and courage," said Nedeau. "He ran with the Top 10 guys for 4.5 miles before succumbing to fatigue." Such exceptional rookie performances certainly bodes well for the future of the cross country program for years to come.