Cross-Country Shines

Author: Sally Hartman

Last Friday marked another victorious day for both the men's and women's cross country teams at the 2003 Vermont Cross-country Intercollegiate Championships. Amidst a field of local schools such as Norwich, Lyndon State, Castleton, St. Michaels and Green Mountain College, Middlebury tore through the competition to unequivocally capture the team honors.

The Lady Panthers once again humiliated their competition by landing the top 16 medallist positions, interrupted only by a Lyndon State runner who snuck into Middlebury's rapid procession at number 11. Standard-bearers Andy Giddings '07, Stephanie Nugent '07 and Molly Yazwinsky '04 led the entourage finishing first, second and third, respectively.

In the men's division, Middlebury waltzed onto the podium thanks to the efforts of Garrot Kuzzy '06, Jon Erwin '05, Nick Digani '05 and Marshall Greene '04, who comprised four of the top five individual positions. The Panthers won despite racing on an unconventional and often treacherous course. "It was a really pretty trail, but not a good one for racing on," said Russ McCracken '04. "It was more of a hiking trail. There were lots of roots, the only grassy area was at a 45 degree angle, and there was a lovely bog." Kuzzy, who competed in his second race this year after recuperating from a knee injury, was unfazed by the unusually hilly and narrow terrain of the course. "I was psyched about the trails we were running," he said.

Other members of the team were equally enthusiastic about the challenging conditions of the route, which was frequently so narrow that it was impossible to pass. Greene, a team captain, described the three-inch mud bog in the heart of the path as "no problem." He did admit, however, that finishing statistics were not indicative of the team's true potential. "Times were about a minute slower than usual," he added.

This weekend's confidence boost could not have come at a better time for the Panthers, as both teams will travel to Boston on Friday to compete in the Open New England Championships. Greene described this meet as extremely competitive due to the composition of the field, which includes a number of NCAA Division I schools. When asked what the focus of the upcoming race would be for the men's cross country squad, Greene was quick to stress the importance of moving up the leader board at the end of the race and finishing strong. In the larger context of the season, Greene and his teammates are taking their own advice by turning up the intensity several notches just as it really begins to matter.