Runners Gun for National Crown

Author: Tom McCann

Last Saturday the men's and women's cross-country teams took their season on the road to Grafton, Mass., for the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship. The women, coming off a phenomenal performance two weekends ago to claim the NESCAC Championship, put in an equally gutsy performance this weekend. The men also placed an extremely credible sixth in Maine to improve on their NESCAC performance by two places. Although the championship eluded the women, they pushed Williams all the way to the proverbial finish line and lost out by the slimmest of margins when everything was said and done.

Both teams traveled down to Maine this weekend in good spirits having performed well the weekend before, and were both looking forward to the NCAA Regional Championships coming up this weekend. The 6k run in Grafton had no bearing on next weekend, but both teams ran themselves into the ground, and can be well pleased with the outcome of the day's work. In a race that included 240 runners, star performers for the women included Margery Glover '04 who placed third, with a time of 23:21.05. Sophomore Kelsey Rinehart also placed in the top ten, coming over the line in 8th place in a time of 23:42.91, less than two seconds behind Stephanie Gibson of Keene State University. Nora Segar '06, Claire Schultz '06 and Makely Lyon '06 all finished in the top 20, helping to contribute to a team average of 23:53.33 for the seven Middlebury runners. This gave the Panthers a team score of 60, five off the pace set by Williams, and a whole 16 points ahead of Keene State in third.

In the men's competition, Neal Dignum '07 came home first for Middlebury in a time of 27:51.88, with just five seconds separating him from six runners ahead. Jakob Benes '04 was next over the line for Middlebury in a time of 28:07.69 in 18th place, while Nat Silverson '04 was next, in 39th, in a time of 28:23.68. The eight Middlebury runners combined for an average time of 28:19.20 and score of 184 that put them in sixth place at the end of the day. While not really threatening Coast Guard in fifth, who scored 178 points, the Panthers were a full 23 points ahead of Oneonta in seventh. Perhaps the most positive aspect of the competition for both the men and women is that they seem well primed in time for the NESCAC Regional Championship this coming weekend in Portland, ME.

The women could hardly be running better and must fancy themselves to make a real charge at the competition while optimism is also running through the men's camp for another strong performance.

The season is winding to a close now, and so every race assumes an added importance. The seniors are about to conclude their Middlebury sports careers while the baton of responsibility is being passed down to the younger runners as we speak. It's an exciting time for everyone involved in the cross-country program, and with a little luck and a lot of heart, the season will come to the sort of close that it deserves to.