The Amherst College men’s cross country team placed 10th in a field of 32 teams at the 2015 NCAA Division III championship on Saturday, Nov. 21. Competing at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wisconsin, Amherst was led by Dan Crowley ’16, who finished first among Amherst runners and 24th overall with a time of 24:48.4.
Mohamed Hussein ’18 finished second among Amherst runners. The sophomore capped off his excellent season with a time of 24:50 to cross the line in 27th place. Hussein was arguably the Northeast’s best runner this season, winning four individual titles, including both Little Three and NESCAC championships. He also won three NESCAC performer of the week awards and garnered NESCAC All-Conference honors along with multiple national awards.
Raymond Meijer ’17 came next, finishing 70th overall with a time of 25:21.50, and Jeff Seelaus ’16 crossed the line in 25:40.00 to earn 94th place.
Craig Nelson ’18 finished fifth among Amherst runners with a mark of 25:48.10 to claim 156th place overall. Kevin Connors ’17 crossed the line in 25:53.40 to claim 168th, and Tucker Meijer ’19 rounded out Amherst’s scoring runners, finishing in 176th place with a time of 25:55.70.
Entering the meet No. 4 in the national USTFCCCA Coaches Poll, Amherst hoped for a better meet.
“We really underperformed, so I don’t even know what to say,” Hussein said. “I think what went wrong was too much emphasis on winning the whole thing, which led to us underperforming. In short, you can only truly talk about winning if you have a culture of winning, and at the moment we are in the process of establishing that culture.”
The purple and white enjoyed one of its best seasons in recent history, finishing among the best teams in the NESCAC. Amherst loses seniors Crowley and Seelaus, but returns five of their top seven runners next year.
Despite the rough meet, Hussein was optimistic about the team’s prospects for the future.
“I guess the good that came out of it is that we are a consistent team capable of competing on the national stage,” he said. “We can build on our successes over the past two seasons to establish a winning culture that will bear fruits in the future.”
