Getting better and using experience as an advantage is all a part of the strategy for the men’s and women’s cross country teams this fall. After the men’s team finished 26th and the women’s team crossed the line a collective 14th at NCAAs last year, both teams are looking to revamp and to get the ball rolling for the new season.
The new captains for the men’s team are Ascencion Aispuro ’18 and Kevin Serrao ’18. Aispuro had several impressive outings last year. Notable mentions include coming in 13th in a field of 241 runners at the Conn. College Invitational and coming in 18th in a field of 348 runners at the NCAA Regionals last year.
Last year, Serrao also had an impressive outing at the Connecticut College Invitational where he came in 26th-place. With the drive to give it their all during their meets, these captains will be great role models in terms of leadership and mentorship for the new and returning members of the team. Throughout the season, it will also be crucial to watch the growth of the team’s five first-year runners.
On the women’s side, the new captain is Read Allen ’18. Allen had three impactful outings during last year’s season. The first would be when she came in first place out of eighty runners at the Vermont State meet. The second was when she finished 25th in the 259-runner competition at the Conn. College Invitational. The third was her 29th-place finish at Nescacs. Allen’s leadership will be on full display this season as she motivates a team filed with varying experience levels, especially the seven new freshmen who joined the team.
The Panthers have recently shown their renewed focus at the Vermont Tech Invitational on Sept. 9. The women faced off against Southern New Hampshire University and Vermont Tech. The men faced off against those same two schools as well as Augusta. Both teams came in first at their respective meets.
The men won the four team meet with a score of twenty points. The top two runners for the team were Miles Meijor ’19, who came in second with a time of 27:14, and Theo Henderson ’20, who came in third with a time of 27:16. The women won their three team meet with a score of twenty five. The top two runners for the team were Talia Ruxin ’20, who came in second with a time of 19:19 and Katherine MacCary ’19, who came in third with a time of 19:24.
With a substantial amount of the season left, the Panthers have a lot of time to continue refining their skills in training. By putting in time and effort, the Panthers will hopefully surpass their current predicted rankings set by the NCAA. Both teams will look to continue their winning on Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Aldrich Invitational.
