Wesleyan’s Women’s cross-country team earned a spot at the National NCAA Division III Championship by finishing fifth at Saturday’s New England Division III Championship meet in Cumberland, Maine. The men’s team also finished fifth but missed going to nationals as a team by one spot. Wes Fuhrman ’05 will represent the men on a national level, as he finished fourth out of the 280 competitors, earning all-New England honors.
Courtney Quirin ’05 and Ellen Davis ’07 led the women to a fifth place finish out of the 41 teams in the meet with their all-New England performances, good for the final team spot at next weekend’s National Championship in Wisconsin. It is the second time in the last three years that the women have earned a trip to Nationals. Quirin placed seventh in the field of 281 runners with a time of 22:02 on the 6,000-meter course, and Davis placed tenth with a time of 22:16. Liz Colville ’05 stepped up to finish in 23:14, good for an all-New England thirty-fourth place.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to end my college cross-country career!” Colville said. “This season, especially at Regionals, both the men’s and women’s teams really stepped up to face the amazing competition that we have. We’ve been continually pushed to be better runners because we have the best teams in the country to compete against, and when the competition is of such a high caliber, it really motivates you.”
Erin Smith ’06 placed fortieth (23:24) and Megan Wise rounded out the scoring five with a seventy-second place finish (24:04).
“The women ran a hell of a race,” Fuhrman said. “They had to compete against the best region in the country for their trip to nationals and they came together and did it. It was awesome to watch.”
For the men’s squad, Fuhrman placed fourth with a time of 26:02 and Owen Kiely ’06 placed nineteeth in 26:39, pacing the men to a fifth place finish among the 39 competing teams. Unfortunately for the men, they just missed a trip to Nationals, as only the top four teams made it. Fuhrman and Kiely each earned all-New England honors.
“I’d like to give up a warm round of applause and thanks to my fellow WESXC men for being huge studs all season,” Fuhrman said. “With all the young, strong and painfully handsome talent we got, the Derrty Birds promise to be on the rise for years to come. Being one team away from bringing the whole crew to nationals is just more fuel for our fires next year. I’m looking forward to mixing it up with the best of them at nationals [this year] and showing Ohio-Wesleyan who’s boss.”
Jon King ’07 placed fortieth (27:14), Jeremy Solomon ’05 finished fifty-fourth (27:31) and Ed Kenney ’07 rounded out the scoring five with a seventy-second place finish (27:48). The squad looks forward to making nationals next year, as it feels it they will continue to improve.
As for the women and Fuhrman, they will race in the NCAA Division III Championship at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday.
“The women and I are very excited about this weekend,” Colville said. “The upperclassmen among us have been waiting for this opportunity for two years, and I’m confident that we’re going to race hard, kick Amherst’s ass, and command respect for our team on a national level.”
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