Women’s Cross Country Team Wins ECAC Championship, Men’s Team Claims Fifth

Despite sitting many of their top runners, both the Middlebury men’s and women’s cross country teams competed successfully at the Eastern College Athletic Conference this past Saturday. The Middlebury women captured the win in a 41-team race finishing with an overall point score of 31, well ahead of second place finisher Tufts University. Meanwhile the Middlebury men’s team finished fifth in the 43-team field behind four fellow NESCAC teams.

In the 6K race held at Mt. Greylock High School in Williamstown, Mass. the women were paced by Lucy Whipps ’14, who placed second with an overall time of 22:57.21. Whipps finished just three seconds behind first place Drew University racer Jeniffer Van Wingerden. She was named NESCAC Performer of the Week for her strong race.

Four women runners for the Panthers finished in the top 11, and six runners placed in the top 15 as well. Summer Spillane ’15, Olivia Artaiz ’16, Juliet Ryan-Davies ’13 and Kate Leib ’16 finished in 6th-, 7th-, 10th- and 11th-place, respectively, speaking to the depth of the women’s team.

The Middlebury men’s team was led by Sebastian Matt ’16, who placed 18th with a time of 27:17.54 in the 8K race. Matt will be the alternate runner for the Panthers in the NCAA Regional Championships. Matt was followed by Panther runners Samuel Cartwright ’16, who finished 25th;  Lucas Carpinello ’16, who finished in 32nd; Mac Stormont ’13,  coming in 33rd; and Aaron DeToledo ’16  in 55th place.

The strong performances of both the men’s and women’s teams attests to the depth and young talent, as many of Middlebury’s top finishers were first-years and sophomores.

“We’re as deep a team as any othe other teams we will comete against in the next three years,” said senior captain Jack Davies ’13. “That depth is going to help us continue to improve next year and the year after.”

The men and women posted strong results without the help of many other top Middlebury runners as they rested in preparation for this coming Saturday’s NCAA Regional competition.

“[The week off] gave us a bit of a mental separation between NESCACs and Regionals which lets you put the race out of your mind and think about it in terms of the next race,” said Davies.

The NCAA Regional Championships this weekend will be held at Westfield State University in Westfield, Mass. on Nov. 10.