Cross-Country Squads Impressive at ECACs

Author: Mike Kirkland

The men's and women's cross -country teams traveled to Williams last weekend to compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship meet. Both teams ran in remarkable fashion in the unseasonal warmth in Massachusetts. As the New England Regional Championship meet is this upcoming Saturday, Coach Terry Aldrich rested his top seven men and women at ECACs last Saturday. Despite this, the squads' "second seven" ran and represented their school quite well.
Leading the charge for the women was first-year phenom Jenny Jorvig. She ran the hilly 6k course in an impressive time of 24:46, good enough for 14th overall, out of over 200 racers. Following Jorvig came three pairs of Panthers, led by Claire Anderson '06 and Hattie Bildsten '06. Anderson and Bildsten were separated by 10 seconds, running 25:33 and 25:43, respectively. Senior co-captain Krista Evans finished four seconds ahead of Taylor Leach '06, to make up the second pair. The third pair featured senior Melissa Cohen and sophomore Jordan MacClary, who ran nine seconds apart.
In this large and highly competitive men's meet, it was a storied veteran of the limelight by the name of Chris Eberly '04 who led the way for the men. Eberly finished the 8k course in fearless fashion, running 28:21. Close behind was first-year fan favorite Tom Icard, who finished in 28:24. The third Panther to enjoy the camaraderie of friends and foes at the finish line was one Nat Silverson '04, who ran the course in 29:22. Eight seconds later, Jakub Benes '04 joined the party in the finish chute. Rounding off a strong men's performance were accomplished veterans Marty Wesolowski '03 and Mike Romankiewicz '03, as well as co-captain Michael Kirkland '03.5.
This Saturday, the top seven men and women will represent Middlebury at the New England Regional Championships at Westfield State. This meet is the final stepping stone en route to the Division III National Championship meet, which will be held in Northfield, Minn, the following weekend. There, the women will look to defend last year's national title.
The Panther runners hope to finish the season in high style, keeping pace with a sensational regular-season performance that landed several top-10 and top-five finishes for the squad.