(c/o Julie Hafferkamp)

The men’s and women’s cross country teams started off 2011 with a bang at the annual Wesleyan Invitational on Sept. 24. Both teams finished first, and showed they are ready to take on the NESCAC.

With most of the 2010 squad returning, the women’s team is poised for a successful 2011 campaign. The team has a great deal of experience, and will rely on its veteran talents, which includes Tess Crain ’12, co-captain Julia Mark ’13, co-captain Hannah Zimmerman ’13 and Ceili Brennan ’13 to return to the NCAA Division III Championships after qualifying for the third time in team history in 2009. Also returning will be the Cardinals’ consistent number two runner, Libby Lazare ‘14.

“The leadership and skills of the returning runners are going to take this squad to Nationals,” Zimmerman said. “We all know what we are capable of, and it is just a matter of believing in ourselves.”

There will also be some freshmen who will look to break into the top seven this season.

“The whole team is excited at the progress many of the freshmen have made in the season thus far,” Mark said.

The returning runners put on an excellent show this past Saturday, placing first out of six teams. Lazare paced the Cardinals with her second-place finish in a time of 19:34.9 in the 5K. In the front pack, Wesleyan runners Lazare, Zimmerman (19:43), and Crain (19:48) dominated the competition, with Mark (20:01) and Brennan (20:05) not far behind. By having such a close spread of runners, the women’s team came in first with 25 points, followed by NESCAC rival Connecticut College with 55 points.

“[The 2011 squad] is one of the best groups of runners we have had since 2009 when we went to Nationals,” Crain said. “We are looking to go back this year and compete on the national level.”

Heading into the 2011 season, the men’s squad will look to the junior class. After successful sophomore seasons, co-captains Bryan Marsh ’13 and Skyler Cummins ’13 look to dominate this season, coming off a campaign in which Marsh was an NCAA qualifier and Cummins was an all-New England performer. Other returners include Austin Cotant ’13, Sam Roth ’13, Seth Hafferkamp ’12, and Julian Applebaum ’13. New to the lineup for the 2011 season is Mac Schneider ’12, who looks to end his cross-country career with a bang. Filmon Tekeste ’15 will also be a standout runner for the Cardinals.

This year, the men’s team hopes to make a trip to Winneconne, Wis, to run at nationals, and judging from Saturday’s race, the men look poised to achieve their goal. Wesleyan swept the top five scoring spots for 15 team points, coming in first for the sixth straight season. The next-closest squad, Connecticut College, was well back with 66 points. The top finisher for the day was Cummins, who completed the 8K course in 27:49.1. Right on his heels were Tekeste (27:53.50), Hafferkamp (27:59.30), Applebaum (28:13.50), Cotant (28.23.50) and Schneider (28:27). This pack was clumped in a spread of just 34 seconds.

Both teams will be back in racing mode on Saturday, Oct. 8, at Franklin Park in Boston for the annual New England Open Championships.