Cross-Country Stellar in New England Open

Author: Michael Kirkland

On Friday, the men's and women's cross-country teams competed in the Open New England Championship, which took place at Franklin Park in Boston. The cool temperature and the steady drizzle made for a terrific day to race. The women's varsity squad ran most impressively, finishing fifth out of a field of 42 schools, including the fifth-ranked Division I team in the nation, Boston College, as well as a bundle of other stellar Division I and Division III squads.
The men's team provided impressive results as well, as every runner in the varsity race beat the time of last year's top finisher for the Panthers.
Senior co-captain Michela Adrian led the strong Panther squad, finishing the 5K course in 17:50. Adrian displayed a particularly impressive finish as she out-kicked one of Williams' star runners in the last 100 meters, much to the delight of the Panther crowd. Sophomore sensation Jess Manzer finished second for Middlebury, with a time of 18:07. Teammate Marissa Cawley '05 responded briefly to a reporter's inquiry regarding Manzer's performance. "How many times do I have to tell you guys? [Manzer] doesn't fool around. She's all business. And she ran like a champion today."
Following Manzer was senior Sarah Logan, who gave one of her best performances of the year, running a smooth 18:12. Molly Yazwinski '04, in a gritty performance, led the remainder of the super seven, which included Nora Segar '06, Cawley and Kelsey Rinehart '06. The women ran a smart and efficient race against a field of familiar foes, many of whom they will face again in Regionals next month.
The men's team was led by Garrot Kuzzy '06, who tore through the somewhat swampy terrain in a time of 26:12. Behind Kuzzy came a pack of the second through fifth runners on the Panther squad, all of whom finished within two seconds of one another at 26:50 through 26:52.
First-year fan Joe Accordino led the way, just ahead of Nolan Sandygren '06, co-captain Mike Mazzotta '03 and sophomore Jon Erwin. Finishing off a strong top seven for the men was junior Marshall Greene and sophomore Nick Digani. Logan was impressed by the proximity of the men's runners, saying, "Each race, when I see the men come in to the finish line in a pack, I just smile because it's such a precious moment of team cohesion."
Shortly after the races, Coach Terry Aldrich and the Middlebury cross-country teams congratulated Coach Nicole Wilkerson for racing in phenomenal fashion at the Greater Hartford Marathon on Saturday. Wilkerson finished in a most impressive time of 2:59:19, bettering her previous personal best by six minutes and boasting an average of a seven-minute mile.
This weekend, the men and women will travel to Albany, N.Y., to race in the Albany Invitational in their last race before the NESCAC Championship meet. The women will especially look to use the Albany race in preparation to defend their four straight NESCAC titles.