Women
This past Saturday at Middlebury, the Amherst women’s cross country team took third place at the 2014 NESCAC Championships. The team averaged a 6K finishing time of 23:27.8, just behind Middlebury’s winning 22:46.4 and Williams’ second place (22:54.3). The Jeffs have finished in the top three at 11 of the past 12 NESCAC Championships.
Amherst finished ahead of the remaining eight NESCAC teams, including Colby and Tufts who finished fourth and fifth respectively at the event. One of the team’s goals in the race was to beat Tufts, a team ranked much higher nationally than them, and they did just that.
Jessie Kaliski ‘15 said she was proud of her team for meeting this goal. “I think what is so special about our team is how deep our team is. When one girl doesn’t have a good race, another girl steps up to the plate and fills in that void,” she said.
Savanna Gornisiewicz placed first for the Jeffs and fifth overall in the 122-person field with a time of 22:40.1. Just behind her was Lexi Sinclair ‘16 whose 22:58.0 finish placed her 11th overall. Lizzy Briskin ‘15 crossed the tape exactly 20 seconds later to take 17th.
Rounding out the top five finishers for the Jeffs were Kaliski and Betsy Black ‘16 whose respective finishing times of 23:59.5 and 24:23.3 placed them 32nd and 43rd.
Other top finishers for the Jeffs included Tess Frenzel ’17 (24:28.8, 46th overall) and Cat Lowdon ’17(24:30.9, 48th).
This was a huge confidence booster for the Jeffs, which will come in handy when they return to action next Saturday, Nov. 8 for the ECAC Championships at Westfield State University.
Men
The Amherst men’s cross country team took fourth place at the 2014 NESCAC Championships this past weekend at Middlebury. Williams won the event with 39 points. Colby (76) and Middlebury (80) also finished before the Jeffs (93). However, Amherst edged ahead of the seven other NESCAC competitors in the race. This is a great improvement from last year’s seventh place finish in the 11-team race. Because Williams, Colby and Middlebury are all top ten teams nationally, such a close performance by the Jeffs is highly encouraging as they continue to move into championship season.
Dan Crowley ‘16 paved the way for the Jeffs with a finishing time of 25:29, seven seconds faster than his time at this event last year. This slated Crowley eighth in the 121-person field. The top overall finisher at the event was Colin Cotton from Williams, with a time of 24:56. Next for the Jeffs across the line was Mohamed Hussein ’18, whose 25:31 placed him twelfth in the field. Rounding out the top three finishers for the Jeffs was Greg Turissini ‘15. The senior co-captain crossed the tape at 25:40, 28 seconds faster than his finishing mark from last season. He placed 13th overall.
Other Jeffs with successful races included Romey Sklar ‘15 (26:13, 28th place), Raymond Meijer ‘17 (26:14, 32nd place), Craig Nelson ‘18 (26:17, 33rd place) and Ben Fielder ‘17 (26:29, 47th place).
“We are looking forward to showcasing our depth at the ECAC Championships next weekend,” Turissini said.
The ECAC Championships will take place next Saturday, Nov. 8 at Westfield State University. Coach Nedeau is hopeful that the team can come out on top at this event.
