In what many of the team’s seniors called the most ridiculous racing conditions they have ever experienced, the men’s cross-country team finished fifth in Saturday’s NESCAC Championship meet at Connecticut College’s Harkness Park in Waterford.
Tri-captain Alex Battaglino ’07 led the way for the Cardinals, finishing the 8,000-meter course in 26:48, good for 14th out of 126 finishers and second team all-NESCAC honors in the heavy wind and rain. The elements caused the course to be slightly rerouted because a part of it was underwater.
“The racing conditions on Saturday were ridiculous,” said tri-captain Nick Holowka ’07. “I’ve been running cross-country since seventh grade, and in 10 years I’d never been through anything like that.”
Several relatively unknown NESCAC runners finished surprisingly high, while a few standout runners ran poorly in the less-than-ideal weather conditions. Jon King ’07 was the next Cardinal after Battaglino to cross the finish line, placing 21st with a time of 26:56. Anda Greeney ’07 (32nd, 27:09), Sean Watson ’08 (45th, 27:32), and Mike Brady ’07 (54th, 27:39) rounded out the scoring five for Wesleyan, putting the Cardinals in fifth place out of the 11 NESCAC teams. Matt Shea ’08 (58th, 27:44) and Jonah Blumstein ’09 (71st, 28:08) completed Wesleyan’s varsity seven.
“Despite the conditions, we came out focused and ready to race,” Holowka said. “Unfortunately, things just didn’t work out for us, and we didn’t get the job done. Williams and Bowdoin dominated the team scores, but after that, the next seven teams were all very close.”
Williams won the meet with a stellar score of 30, followed by Bowdoin (81). Amherst (144) and Trinity (148) finished just in front of Wesleyan (156).
“The 12 points behind Amherst comes down to mere seconds between individual runners,” Holowka said. “To qualify for Nationals, we’ll need to be at least third at Regionals, a goal that is well within our reach. Personally, I believe that if our team steps up in two weeks, Bowdoin and even Williams are within our grasp. We know what we must do.”
The New England Region Division III Championship will be held on Saturday, Nov. 11 in Springfield, Mass. Last year, on that very same course, the Cardinals shocked everyone but themselves with a spectacular showing at Regionals, earning a trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship for the first time in team history, preventing Williams from clinching a bid to Nationals in the process. Several Cardinals had their best race of the season at Regionals last year, as four members of the team garnered all-New England honors, and Wesleyan finished second in the region to a now depleted Tufts team.
“Given the adverse conditions and the championship nature of Saturday’s race, we did well, but we fell short of our goals to win the conference,” Shea said. “But with the taper over the next two weeks and adequate time to prepare, we are confident we can still win the region.”
Many NESCAC runners will need the extra time to recover due to a mysterious rash that many who ran at Connecticut College on Saturday have contracted. At press time, a newly-created facebook group, “Victims of the NESCAC rash,” had 87 members.
This Saturday, the Cardinals will travel to Williams for the ECAC Division III meet, which will feature members of Wesleyan’s junior varsity squad, as well as those competing for a spot on the varsity seven squad for Regionals.
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