Cross Country Continues to Improve

Yearly improvement seems to be the constant aim of the men’s and women’s cross country teams. Throughout the season, the Panthers are looking to improve their placements in the NESCAC and NCAA Championships. In the 2015 season, the men came in 26th and the women came in 14th at the NESCAC Championship, and in the following year, the men improved to 15th place and the women improved to 11th place. Both teams placed second in the 2017 NESCAC Championship.

Leading the charge for these improvements are the new captains: Miles Meijer ’19 and Andrew Michelson ’19 for the men, as well as Claire Gomba ’19 and Alexis Jakubowski ’19 for the women. These four individuals earned their leadership positions through impressive outings in previous seasons.

The Vermont Tech Invitational, the first meet of the season, occurred on September 8. The men’s team secured first place out of four teams. The Panther men scored in 16 of the top 21 places, holding spots one through nine. The top three runners in the race were Meijer, Theo Henderson ’19 and Matt D’Aquila ’21, finishing with times of 26:58.81, 26:59.93, and 27:04.93, respectively. In a total field of three teams, the women also gained first place at their meet and captured 13 of the first 15 places, holding the first 10 places. The top three runners were Talia Ruxin ’20, Rory Kelly ’19 and Katie Glew ’21, with times of 19:35.59, 19:45.81 and 19:57.24, respectively. With wins from both teams, it seems they are prepared for the upcoming season’s challenges. 

Next week September 15, the Panthers will compete in the Aldrich Invitational at home. If they continue to improve and follow their strategies throughout the season, victory should be a common theme.