Women Runners Take Top Billing at Bates

Author: Sally Hartman

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home..." The unexpected wisdom of The Wizard of Oz's protagonist Dorothy proved to be true this weekend in Cumberland, Maine as the men and women's cross country teams faced off with conference and non-conference teams alike. Although several hundred miles from campus, both teams were treated to a pre-race carbohydrate-loading session at the home of first-year superstar Andy Giddings. The home-cooked meal proved to be crucial in the team's performance the following day. It was just the inspiration Giddings needed to allow her to lead her fellow female teammates to a smashing victory with a fifth-place personal finish, sailing past the closest competitor and reigning NCAA champions Williams.

Despite a second place finish last year at the championships to the Cows, (or Ephs as they euphemistically prefer to be called) the women of Middlebury have begun a swift scramble to the top of the conference leader board. Resident cross-country analyst and member of the men's squad, Garrot Kuzzy '06 eloquently summed up the weekend in saying, "The girls killed, annihilated, destroyed everyone. Our team completely dominated the entire field!" Kuzzy is not alone in his emphatic declarations of the women's dominance. This year's championship, which looms in the near future, will prove to be the true indicator of the squad's athletic prowess. After two years of bringing home the hardware (2000 and 2001) and the subsequent loss to Williams at the end of last year's season, the Middlebury women's team is passionately and relentlessly pursuing revenge. However, if performance this year is any indication of future trends, Giddings and her teammates might have enough spare energy to race each other home from the competition.

While the women confirmed expectations of their competitive supremacy, their male counterparts fell a bit short on Saturday. Perhaps it was the dreary weather or the remnants of illness that plagued the otherwise virile team at last week's meet. Or maybe it was the awe-inspiring landscape of the light-house dotted beaches that clouted their typically acute minds. Irrespective of the cause, Captain Marshall Greene '04 and his teammates struggled to finish seventh behind an array of less talented but temporarily more composed schools. Despite the unfavorable finish, however, the men spread a bit of Middlebury cheer to the local Maine community by rooting for a squad of eight-year-old soccer players that happened to be competing on an adjacent field. "It was so cute," Kuzzy said. "Those little kids got really into their game. This weekend was all about being excited for everyone else since we didn't do so well."

At the end of the day, Middlebury was well represented by the men and women both inside and outside the sphere of athletics. October 3, however, marks the next test for both squads as it will prove more telling of each of their chances for victory come the Championships on November 22. In the meantime, as the women forge ahead, the men will regroup and emerge confident with the mentality that nice guys don't always finish last.